TheEliteHoopsShowcase,
which was held over the weekend in Houston, TX, has once again provided our
Georgia Editor Horace Neysmith with an early look at some under the
radar screen guys, as well as some of the top up-and-coming prospects in the
Lone Star State. And right at the top of the list are 6'8 Jr Jonathan Motley
from Houston (North Shore) TX, 6'0 Jr D.J Griggs from Lake Jackson (Brazosport)
TX, and 6'5 Frosh Kelly Oubre from Richmond (Ft. Bend Bush) TX.
"Motley is a long athletic wing forward with a variety of skills reminiscent
of Baylor's Quincy Miller," says Neysmith. "He can beat you off
the dribble, has the ability to knock down jumpers, and is skilled on the
block. On the defensive end he did a good job of blocking and altering
shots. Motley is a top 100 prospect. Griggs is a physical guard
who finishes well with contact and knows how to set up his teammates.
His quick first step and strength allows him to beat his man in the lane.
Griggs, a tough defender, also is one of the better rebounders at his
position. The work he's putting in has paid dividends. Oubre is
a smooth slashing lefty who effectively uses his hesitation dribble to get
to the basket for finishes at the rim. His ability to hit the
perimeter shot also opens up his driving lanes. His game is not
one-sided as he battles both back-boards and defended well. Another top
100 prospect." Neysmith also really liked 6'1 Josh Gray from
Humble (Christian Life) TX, who is already verbally committed to Mississippi
State; 6'2 Jr Isaiah Taylor, a transplant from Berkeley (St. Mary's)
CA to Houston (The Village) TX; and 6'7 Jr Dylan Jones from Houston
(The Village) TX, who is already verbally committed to Pepperdine.
"Gray jumped onto the scene at last year's camp and his continued
improvement is evident," says Neysmith. "Always tough attacking the
basket, Gray has improved the consistency on his jumper and has more bounce
to his game. He also made a strong case for the national rankings.
Taylor also really helped himself this weekend. He has the quickness
and ball skills necessary to beat his man consistently and, when in the
lane, his vision allows him to find teammates for easy baskets. He
also has very good defensive instincts. Jones has a great motor and is
active on both ends with his rebounding and shot blocking. He also did
a great job of beating his man down the floor for easy baskets and finishes
well with contact." There also was 5'9 Jr Shawndre Jones from
Richmond (Ft. Bend Bush) TX, who is very good at using high ball screens to
create scoring opportunities for himself and others. "When not getting
in the lane, Jones was knocking down shots from behind the arc," says
Neysmith. "He also is solid defensively." Also playing well
enough to get a mention are 6'0 Luke Savoy from Rosenberg (Lamar) TX,
6'6 Bridge Lavey from Humble (Atascocita) TX, 6'1 Ryan Garcia
from Houston (Jersey Village) TX, 5'10 Soph Brandon Etienne from
Houston (North Shore) TX, 6'1 Jr Darin Minniefield from Houston
(Westbury Christian) TX, 6'1 Garrett Wilson from Katy (Cinco Ranch)
TX, 6'7 Jr Joshua Friar from Kingwood (H.S.) TX, 6'8 Jr Andrew
Kelly from Houston (Klein) TX, 6'3 Jarrain Jenkins from White
Castle (H.S.) LA, 6'6 Jr Cori Hoffman from Montgomery (H.S.) TX, 6'3
Terrance Fair from White Castle (H.S.) LA, 6'4 William House
from Humble (Atascocita) TX, and 6'2 Jr Trayvond Collins from Humble
(H.S.) TX. "Savoy is a crafty point guard with a good mid-range game,"
says Neysmith. "His penchant for creating for others makes him a good
floor general. Lavey is a deep threat who has improved handling the
ball. He used shot fakes well to beat his man for pull-ups and likes
to compete. Garcia was one of the best defenders in camp, competes on
every possession, does a good job of taking what the defense gives him, and
has a knack for making the simply play that leads to easy baskets.
Etienne is one of the top young guards in the area and does a good job of
attacking the gaps and finding shooters. Minniefield is at his best in
transition, where he makes athletic plays. He's also very effective
with the catch-and-go in the half-court set to beat his man and is a good on
the ball defender. Wilson was one of the camp's top shooters. He
can beat you off the dribble with his jumper and plays the passing lanes
well. Friar got better as the weekend wore on. The physical
banger finished plays, rebounded outside his area, and was a defensive
presence inside. Kelly is a very shooter who is effective on the pick
and pop. He's also a good position rebounder who battle on the glass.
Jenkins is another undersized forward with a sweet shooting stroke and is a
load on the block. He also has a good understanding of where his
advantages were...took the smaller players to the block and bigger players
to the perimeter. Hoffman is banger who works hard at both ends and
has a good nose for the ball. Fair is another shooter with range and
his ability to shoot allows him access to drive the gaps. House is a
slasher who does a little bit of everything. He also did a good job of
filling the lanes and getting on the offensive glass. Collins really
got his shot going in the Top 20 Game. He has good range and move well
without the ball to get his shot."

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

With his verbal commitment
last night to the University of Arizona, 6'8 Brandon Ashley
from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV became the highest ranked player in the
Class of 2012 to have made his college decision. And, with the
decision over the weekend by 6'5 Savon Goodman from Bryn Athyn
(Academy of the New Church) PA to renege on Villanova, the number of players ranked among our top
100 seniors nationally who have picked a four-year college or university remains the same at 46.
We currently have Ashley ranked #6 nationally in the senior class
nationally. But what makes this so interesting is the fact that the
Wildcats also already have a verbal commitment from 6'9 Grant Jerrett
from La Verne (Lutheran) CA. He's not as athletic nor does he have the
natural talent of Ashley. But Jerrett is more skilled, is good enough
to be ranked #38 nationally in the senior
class by the HOOP SCOOP, and plays a similar position to Ashley,
who also is more of a finesse guy than a banger around the basket. In
other words, Arizona head coach Sean Miller and his staff have landed
two quality inside guys who likely will compete with one another for playing
time, but has yet to get a bruiser around the
basket like 6'7 Derrick
Williams was during the last two years for the Wildcats. However,
the addition of Ashley to a recruiting class that also already includes both
Jerrett and 6'2 Gabe York from Orange (Lutheran) CA does move their recruiting class up to #2 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes
To-Date for the Class of 2012, And, when one remembers that Arizona also
landed 6'2 Josiah Turner from Sacramento (H.S.) CA, 6'3 Nick
Johnson from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'8 Sidiki Johnson from
Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 6'10 Angelo Chol from San Diego
(Hoover) CA in last year's recruiting class, it's pretty clear that Miller
will have a strong nucleus around which to build in the future. It
also looks like the University of Maryland has hit the jackpot with the late
addition of 7'1 Alex Len from Antrarsit, Ukraine to their 2011
recruiting class. We're talking about a guy who averaged 16/0 pgg,
11.4 rpg, and 4.3 bpg for the Ukrainian 18-Under National Team and, at 7'1,
225-pounds, should be ready to step in and make immediate impact in the
tough Atlantic Coast Conference this season. We also suspect that Terrapins assistant
coach Scott Spinelli's strong international ties came into play on this one and he appears to be exactly what the doctored ordered to complement
6'4 Nick Faust from Baltimore (City College)
MD, who was signed by the previous regime and was one of the best 3-point
shooters in the high school ranks a year ago. We also think Oklahoma
State may have a steal on its hands with the addition of 6'8 Kamari
Murphy from Bradenton (IMG Academy) FL. Currently we have this
long lanky athletic power forward ranked #11 on our List of the Top 5th Year Players.
But, once he gets bigger and stronger physically and develops better
offensive skills and some post moves, the sky could be the limit.
Remember, Murphy runs the court extremely well for somebody his size, he
brings that Brooklyn toughness to the table, and he put up good numbers
while playing for Tiny Morton at Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY a year go.
We also are impressed with the way the new coaching
staff at UNLV is quickly putting all the pieces together. The latest being 6'9
Demetris Morant from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, who is ranked #165
nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP. Morant is
long and athletic and he plays in one of the top high school programs in the
nation. But it's his upside and potential that gets us excited.
The addition of Morant also moves the Runnin' Rebels recruiting class, which
already includes 6'5 Katin Reinhardt from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA
and 6'0 Daquan Cook from Baltimore (Digital Harbor) MD, into a tie at
#13, along with Marquette, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes
To-Date for the Class of 2012, And the best may be yet to come, as Morant is
the high school teammate of 6'5 Shabazz Muhammad, 6'8 Rosco Allen,
and 6'8 Ben Carter at Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV. Add the
fact that new UNLV head coach Dave Rice's brother is the head coach
at Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV and all of the connections become even more
interesting. It also looks like the University of Utah has landed the
top player in its backyard with the verbal commitment over the weekend from
6'6 Jordan Loveridge from West Jordan (H.S.) UT and Brigham Young is
getting a great head start on the future with the early additions of 6'2 Jr
Nick Emery from Highland (Lone Peak) UT and 6'2 Soph T.J. Harris
from Highland (Lone Park) UT. And to make this one even more
interesting is the fact that both Emery's brother and Harris' brother played
for the Cougars in recent years. There also is the verbal commitment that 6'4 Dillion
Graham from Orlando (First Academy) FL, who is ranked #9 in the state's
senior class by our Florida Editor Rick Staudt, has made the
University of Florida, and the verbal commitment that 6'4 Shawn Smith
from Jacksonville (Providence School) FL, who is ranked #120 nationally in
the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has made to the University of
Missouri. We also suspect that 6'6 Kirk Staine from Baldwin
(H.S.) NY, who verbally committed over the weekend to Longwood, could turn
out to be a major steal for the Lancers. He's one of those long
multi-dimensional athletic guys who plays hard, shoots the three, and is
still flying under the radar screen even though he opened some eyes with his
play in early July at the first Hoop Group Elite
Camp. It's also safe to assume that 6'3
Kethan Savage from Alexandria (Episcopal) VA is a good catch for George
Washington and 6'4 Jr Quinten Payne from St. Charles (North) IL, who
is ranked #275 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, will
fit in perfectly with the four players - 6'0 Keith Carter from
Maywood (Proviso East) IL, 6'1 Darrell Combs from Thornwood (South
Holland) IL, 6'8 Nick Osborne from Muncie (Central) IN, and 6'7
Matt O'Leary from Terre Haute (North Vigo) IN - that new Ramblers
head coach Porter Moser has already landed this summer in the Class
of 2012.

It really was
a great way to wrap up the summer. We're talking about the
Boost Mobile Elite 24 Game, which
was held yesterday afternoon in Venice Beach, CA and featured an
overwhelming number of the very elite high school players in the nation.
The Marques Johnson Squad beat the Raymond Lewis Squad, 142-132.
However, even more important, a lot of guys reinforced what we already think
with regards to their rankings and projections at both the college and
professional levels. We start with with 6'5 Shabazz Muhammad
from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, 6'8 Kyle Anderson from Jersey City
(St. Anthony) NJ, and, 6'8 Amile Jefferson from Wynnewood (Friends
Central) PA, who were the three best players in the game and are all ranked
among our top five seniors nationally. For our money Jefferson, who
finished with 23 points, nine rebounds, two blocked shots, and 10-17 field
goals, was the best player in the game. But, once again, he's almost
too efficient for his own good and, as a result, once again didn't get
the respect that he deserves, as Muhammad and 5'7 Jr Aquille Carr
from Baltimore (Patterson) MD edged him out for team MVP honors.
Muhammad did have 25 points, nine rebounds, two blocked shots, and 12-22
field goals. But most of his points came off of dunks and baskets in
transition. On the other hand, Muhammad does deserve extra credit
because he is still being hampered by a
high ankle sprain and was advised to not even play in the game. He
also did a great job of running the court and playing with a lot of energy,
which appeared to be contagious to a lot of the other players in the game.
Carr clearly was the biggest overachiever, as he used his up tempo style and
Baltimore toughness to adapt perfectly to the up-and-down pace en route to
21 points, 10 assists, 9-17 field goals, and 3-3 free throws. The same
also can be said about 6'5 Justin Anderson from Rockville (Montrose
Christian) MD, who is a relentless competitor and made a living off
transition and dunking the basketball en route to 23 points and an
impressive 11-12 field goals. Anderson also was one of
the catalysts for the winning Marques Johnson Squad and shared team MVP
honors with 6'8 Kyle Anderson from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ.
Speaking of the other Anderson, he finished with 18 points, four rebounds,
eight assists, and 9-14 field goals and was one of the most unselfish
players and most skilled players in the game. Two other unsung heroes
for the Marques Johnson Squad were 6'3 Rasheed Sulaimon from Houston
(Strake Jesuit) TX and 6'5 Jr Andrew
Harrison from Richmond (Ft. Bend Travis) TX. They both only had
two points apiece in the first half, but finished with 15 points and 14
points apiece respectively when the final horn had sounded. They also combined for 10 assists and made
a number of big plays that helped spark their team at key points in the
game. And what about the battle of the big men, which was won by 6'9 DeJuan Coleman
from Dewitt (Jamesville-Dewitt) NY and 6'8 Robert Carter from
Snellville (Shiloh) GA? The former finished with 14 points, three
rebounds, 5-9 field goals, and 4-5 free throws and the latter had 16 points,
six rebounds, and 8-9 field goals. In contrast, the other two big
physical specimens in the game - 6'9 Tony
Parker from Lithonia (Miller Grove) GA and 6'9 Cameron Ridley
from Richmond (Ft. Bend Bush) TX had only eight points and two rebounds
and six points and four rebounds respectively. We're also still trying
to figure out what happened to 6'9 Brandon Ashley from Henderson
(Findlay Prep) NV, who was a total bust with only four points and 2-4 field
goals. Currently we have Parker ranked #4, Ashley #6, and Coleman
ranked #8 nationally in the senior class. However, after watching this game,
it's pretty clear that Coleman is the best of the three, Parker should be
second on that list, and Ashley probably
needs to drop out of the top 10 nationally. Another one of the unsung heroes was
6'5 Savon Goodman
from Bryn Athyn (Academy of the New Church) PA, who finished with 12 points,
six rebounds, two steals, and 6-8 field goals and, once again, always seemed to be in the
right place at the right time to make the play. We also have to give 6'9 Grant
Jerrett from La Verne (Lutheran) CA credit for stepping up and playing
better than expected with eight points and 4-8 field goals. But we continue to wonder about
all of the hype with regards to 6'2 Gabe York from Orange (Lutheran)
CA, who finished with only five points and 2-5 field goals. We also
expected more out of 6'8 Jr Julius Randle from Plano (Prestonwood
Christian) TX, who showed some flashes, but only had 10 points four
rebounds, and 4-7 field goals, and 6'10 Jr Nerlens Noel from Tifton
(School) NH, who had several terrific blocks, but finished with only two
points, five rebounds, and 1-4 field goals. On the other hand, 6'8 Perry Ellis
from Wichita (Heights) KS, who had only two points, two rebounds, and 1-5
field goals, pretty much picked up where he left off this summer and, as a
result, the value of his stock continues to drop. It was pretty much
status quo for the rest of the players in the game, as 6'4 Rodney Purvis
from Raleigh (Upper Room Christian Academy) NC had 12 points, five rebounds,
three assists, and 5-9 field goals; 6'1 Marcus Paige from Marion
(Linn-Mar) IA had eight points, two assists, and 4-10 field goals; 6'8 Anthony
Bennett from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV had eight points, five
rebounds, two blocked shots, and 4-8 field goals; 6'5 Jr
Aaron Harrison from Richmond (Ft. Bend Travis) TX had eight points, two
assists, and 4-8 field goals; 6'1 Jr Nate Britt from Washington
(Gonzaga) DC has six points, two assists, two steals, and 3-5 field goals;
and 6'4 Shaquille Johnson from Alpharetta (Milton) GA had six points,
three assists, and 3-3 field goals. And, last but not least, is 6'10
Mitch McGary from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, who did not play
in the game due to the fact that he was injured while breaking the backboard
in the warm-ups prior to the start of the game. Also noteworthy is the fact that the outdoors
court appeared to have a major influence the outside shooting, as both teams
combined to hit only 1-13 3-pointers. In contrast, most of the players
in the game had no problem making dunks and finishing in transition, as the
Marques Johnson Squad shot 67-103 (65.0/%) from the field and the Raymond
Lewis Squad shot 61-112 (54.5%) from the field. And really that was
the big difference in the game. We also want to give Ronnie Flores
of ESPN Rise a special mention, because he did a great job of putting
together the teams and playing a key role in running the game.

Friday, August 26, 2011

With the verbal commitment
that 6'3 Kris Dunn from Wilbraham (Wilbraham & Monson) MA made a
couple of day ago to Providence College, 46 of our top 100-ranked seniors are now
off the board. However, it does not appear that most of the elite
players are in any big hurry to make it official, as is evident by the fact
that our highest ranked senior who is verbally committed is 5'11 Kevin
Ferrell from Indianapolis (Park Tudor) IN. He's ranked #10
nationally in the senior class and is the marquee player in
Indiana's top-ranked recruiting class. Also on this list are 6'3
Rasheed Sulaimon from Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX to Duke, 6'6 Ricardo
Gathers from LaPlace (Riverside) LA to St. John's, 6'5 Savon Goodman
from Bryn Athyn (Academy of the New Church) PA to Villanova, 6'1 Marcus
Paige from Marion (Linn-Mar) IA to North Carolina, 6'8 Sam
Dekker from Sheboygan (Lutheran) WI to Wisconsin, 6'0 Dominic Artis
from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV to UCLA, 6'9 Cameron Ridley from
Richmond (Ft. Bend Bush) TX to Texas, 6'5 Jordan Price from Decatur
(Southwest DeKalb) GA to Auburn, 5'11 Javan Felix from
New Orleans (St. Augustine) LA to Texas, 6'3 Ryan Arcidiacono from
Langhorne (Neshaminy) PA to Villanova, 6'5 Jordan Adams from Mouth of
Wilson (Oak Hill) VA to UCLA, 5'11 Tyler Lewis from Mouth of Wilson
(Oak Hill) VA to N.C. State, 6'5 Justin Anderson from Rockville
(Montrose Christian) MD to Virginia, 6'9 Grant Jerrett from La Verne
(Lutheran) CA to Arizona, 6'5 Omar Calhoun from Middle Village
(Christ the King) NY to Connecticut, 6'9 Aaron Rountree from Wilson
(Greenfield) NC to Wake Forest, 7'0 Isaiah Austin from Arlington
(Grace Prep) TX to Baylor, 6'8 Montrezl Harrell from Tarboro (Edgecomb)
NC to Virginia Tech, 6'10 Daniel Ochefu from
Westtown (Friends) PA to Villanova, 6'6 J.P. Tokoto from Menomonee
Falls (H.S.) WI to North Carolina, 6'5 Darrick Wood from Newark (Nia
Prep) NJ to St. John's, 6'8 Steve Taylor from Chicago (Simeon) IL to
Marquette, 6'6 Cameron Beidschied from St. Louis (Cardinal Ritter) MO
to Notre Dame, 6'7 Glenn Robinson from Saint John (Lake Central) IN
to Michigan, 6'3 Gabe York from Orange (Lutheran) CA to Arizona, 6'9
Gavin Ware from Starkville (H.S.) MS to Mississippi State, 6'2
Codi Miller-McIntyre from Concord (First Assembly) NC to Wake Forest,
5'11 Ronnie Johnson from Indianapolis (North Central) IN to Purdue,
6'5 Nkereuwem Okoro from
Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY to Iowa State, 6'8 Hanner Perea from
La Porte (La Lumiere) IN to Indiana, 6'5 Katin Reinhardt from Santa
Ana (Mater Dei) CA to UNLV, 6'4 Michael Frazier from Montverde
(Academy) FL to Florida, 6'8 Evan Nolte from Alpharetta
(Milton) GA to Virginia, 6'0 Braxton Ogbueze from Charlotte (United
Faith Christian) NC to Florida, 6'2 J-Mychal Reese from Bryan (H.S.)
TX to Texas A&M, 6'7 Jeremy Hollowell from Indianapolis (Lawrence
Central) IN to Indiana, 6'5 Damien Wilson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak
Hill) VA to Memphis, 6'0 Daquan Cook from Baltimore (Digital Harbor)
MD to UNLV, 6'6 Jaron Blossomgame
from Alpharetta (Chattahoochee) GA to Clemson, 6'10 Josh Scott from
Colorado Springs (Lewis-Palmer) CO to Colorado, 7'0 Peter Jurkin from
Charlotte (United Faith Christian) NC to Indiana, 6'5 Fred Thomas
from Jackson (Jim Hill) MS to Mississippi State, 6'5 Raphael Davis
from Ft. Wayne (South Side) IN to Purdue, and 6'8 Arik Armstead from
Elk Grove (Pleasant Grove) CA to USC (football). As for Dunn, his
picking the Friars is huge for a number of reasons. First, he's good
enough right now to be ranked #45 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP
SCOOP and he has
the upside, potential, athleticism, and ability to score necessary to evolve
into one of the better players someday in the Big East Conference. Second, Dunn is
originally from New London (H.S.) CT and this clearly demonstrates the fact that
the new Providence coaching staff will be able to get more than their share of the top players
in their backyard. Third, Dunn also is both a club team and a high
school teammate of 6'11 Andre Drummond from Wilbraham (Wilbraham &
Monson) MA and you can bet that Friars head coach Ed Cooley and his staff
are trying to use every angle in an attempt to get involved with this 6'11
big guy who does have an amazing combination of size, athleticism, and
potential.
Fourth, getting a commitment from an elite player like Dunn should also
enhance Providence's' chances of landing 6'6 Ricardo Ledo from
Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, who is ranked #2 on our List of the Top 5th
Year Players and is originally from Providence, RI. If you will
recall, Ledo previously made a verbal commitment to the former regime, but
soon after changed his mind. It also looks like 7'5
Sim Bhullar from Toronto, ON via Saltsburg (Kiski School) PA and
Huntington (Prep) WV has reneged on his second school (he previously was
committed to West Virginia and Xavier) and is now heading to New Mexico
State, where he will enroll into school this fall and be eligible
immediately. Bhullar is currently ranked #75 nationally in the senior
class and his good hands, quickness to the ball, and knack for
finding a way to score around the basket makes him really intriguing. On
the other hand, it will be interesting to see if Bhullar will be able step
in and make an immediate impact and just how Aztecs head coach
Marvin Menzies uses him. Remember, we're talking about a massive
human being and foot speed, athleticism, and running the court are not his forte. Our New York City Editor
Ron Naclerio tells us that 6'2 Brian Bernardi from Brooklyn (Xaverian)
NY, who is ranked #4 in the senior class in NYC by the HOOP SCOOP,
has verbally committed to SMU. Obviously this is case where Mustangs
head coach Matt Doherty has gone back to his old stamping grounds to
land one of the best outside shooters to come out of the Big Apple in a long
time. It also looks like Ball State may have stolen on in 6'1
Marcus Posley from Winnebago (H.S.) IL. We're talking about a
combo guard who can really score (he shot 42.0% from 3-land a year ago) and, as a result, should
be the perfect complement to 6'6 Bo Calhoun from South Bend
(Washington) IN and 6'4 Michael Ramey from Indianapolis (Southport)
IN in a recruiting class that is now tied at #31, along with Butler, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes
To-Date for the Class of 2012, And to make the story even more interesting is
the fact that the Cardinals now have the third highest ranked mid-major
recruiting class in the country, behind Virginia Commonwealth and Butler.
And those other two teams were NCAA Final Four teams last March.
However, in the case of Ball State, assistant coaches Bob Simmons and
Mitch Gilfillan laid the groundwork for this a year ago, as their
primary recruiting focus was getting a head start on juniors. We also are intrigued by the
fact that 6'9 Keith Coleman from Marshalltown (JC) IA has picked the
University of Nebraska. He played well several times when we saw him
saw him a year ago, but thought he was more of quick fix than a program
changer for somebody at the high major level. On the other hand,
another big body like Coleman may be exactly what the doctor ordered for
Cornhuskers head coach Doc Sadler, as his team enters the
tough/physical Big-10 Conference next year. There also are the pair
of verbal commitments by 6'6 Carlos Morris and 6'2 Ian Baker from Jacksonville
(Arlington Country Day) FL, both of whom are teammates at Jacksonville
(Arlington Country Day) FL and are ranked in the 200-300 range nationally by
the HOOP SCOOP, to the University of South Carolina; the decision
by the sharpshooting 6'3 John Papale from Willingham (Choate Rosemary) MA to stay home
and attend Boston University, and the fact that 6'0 Keith Carter from
Maywood (Proviso East) IL has joined 6'1 Darrell Combs from Thornwood (South
Holland) IL, 6'8 Nick Osborne from Muncie (Central) IN, and 6'7 Matt O'Leary
from Terry Haute (North Vigo) IN in Loyola-Chicago's recruiting class that is now ranked #34
on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes
To-Date for the Class of 2012, Editor's Note: Our New
York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that 6'11 Andre Drummond
from Wilbraham (Wilbraham & Monson) MA has decided to enroll this fall at
the University of Connecticut, where he will be eligible immediately.
And this makes perfect sense when one remembers that Drummond graduated from
high school this past spring and had planned on going to prep school for
year in order to fulfill the requirement that he be one year removed from
high school in order to be eligible to enter the 2012 NBA Draft.
Besides, who better to push and get the most out of Drummond than Huskies
head coach Jim Calhoun? Remember, Calhoun did the same thing
with 6'9 Jr Alex Oriakhi,
who recorded 11 double-doubles this past season and played a key role in his
team's win in over Butler in the 2011 NCAA Championship Game. Now also
is a good time to point out that this appears to be a trend, as Drummond
becomes the fourth player in this class who had reclassified at a younger
age, but now has decided to skip his final year of high school and, instead,
go the college route. If you will recall, Pittsburgh-bound 6'9 Khem
Birch from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA decided to move back up in class in
time to be eligible to play in the McDonald's All-American Game, 6'9
Alex Murphy will skip his final year at Southborough (St. Mark's) MA
and will enroll at Duke this fall, and 7'5
Sim Bhullar from Huntington (Prep) WV did likewise just a couple of days
ago and now plans to enroll at New Mexico State.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Dinos Trigonis is widely recognized
as one of the top event operators in the country and yesterday he released
his Fullcourt Press Pangos Fall 2011 Schedule
of Events. And the first thing that he has on his itinerary is
the Fullcourt Press Fall Showcase,
which will be held at Dominguez High School in Compton, CA on Sunday,
September 11th. This popular fall individual event is expected to
feature many of Southern California's top high school players, like 6'9 Grant Jerrett
from La Verne (Lutheran) CA, 6'5 Katin Reinhardt from Santa Ana
(Mater Dei) CA, 6'8 Zena Edosomwan from North Hollywood
(Harvard-Westlake) CA, 6'7 Chris Reyes from La Verne (Damien) CA,
6'6 Jr Jordan Bell from Long Beach (Poly) CA, 6'4 Jr Isaac
Hamilton from Bellflower (St. John Bosco) CA, 6'3 Jr Eric Cooper
from La Verne (Lutheran) CA, 6'5 Jr Roschon Prince from Long
Beach (Poly) CA, 6'0 Jr Jahmel Taylor from Chatsworth (Sierra
Canyon) CA, 6'1 Jr Chance Murray from Los Angeles (Price) CA, 6'1
Jr Brandon Randolph from Playa Del Ray (St. Bernard) CA, 6'6 Jr
Payton Banks from Orange (Lutheran) CA, 6'4 Jr Nick Colletta
from Glendora (H.S.) CA, 6'4 Soph Stanley Johnson from Santa
Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'6 Soph Daniel Hamilton from Bellflower (St.
John Bosco) CA, 6'4 Soph Bear Henderson from Mission Hills (Bishop
Alemany) CA, 6'3 Soph Namon Wright from Los Angeles (Pacific
Hills) CA, 6'7 Soph Devin Burleson from Los Angeles (Pacific
Hills) CA, 6'2 Soph Christopher Sandifer from Los Angeles (Price)
CA,
6'4 Frosh Tyler Dorsey from Pasadena, CA, 6'9 Frosh Broderick
Jones from Inglewood, CA, 5'9 Frosh Marcus LoVett from
Altadena, CA, 5'11 Frosh Sedrick Barefield from Temecula, CA, and
5'8 Frosh Latrell Franklin from Temecula, CA. Next on
Trigonis' agenda is the Fullcourt Fall
Hoops Classic, which will be held on Saturday, September
17th, and Sunday, September 18th at the HAX in Harbor City, CA.
This will be the 19th edition of this event and it will consist of a a
16-team field that will feature 6'5 Shabazz Muhammad from Las
Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, who is the #1-ranked senior nationally by the
HOOP SCOOP. And, in addition to Muhammad, the Las
Vegas Orange also is expected to have 6'8 Rosco Allen from Las
Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, 6'8 Ben Carter from Las Vegas (Bishop
Gorman) NV, 6'9 Demetrius Morant from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman)
NV and 6'10 Frosh Stephen Zimmerman from Las Vegas (Bishop
Gorman) NV. Among the other teams slated to be in the field are
Belmont Shore with 6'5 Katin Reinhardt from Santa Ana
(Mater Dei) CA, 6'8 Zena Edosomwan from North Hollywood
(Harvard-Westlake) CA, 6'7 Chris Reyes from La Verne (Damien) CA,
6'4 Soph Stanley Johnson from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'4 Soph
Bear Henderson from Mission Hills (Bishop
Alemany) CA, and
6'4 Frosh
Tyler Dorsey from Pasadena, CA; the Compton Magic with
6'2 Gabe York from Orange (Lutheran) CA and 6'6 Jr Jordan Bell
from Long Beach (Poly) CA; Belmont Shore Gold with 6'9
Grant Jerrett
from La Verne (Lutheran) CA and
6'3 Jr
Eric Cooper
from La Verne (Lutheran) CA; California Select with
6'4 Soph
Issac Hamilton from
Bellflower (St. John Bosco) CA and
6'6 Soph
Daniel Hamilton from
Bellflower (St. John Bosco) CA, California Supreme, Branch West Elite, Team Superstar,
and Salt Lake Metro. Then, Trigonis will move onto Sin City, where
he will host the
Fullcourt Press Las Vegas Fall Showcase
at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, NV. And it should come
as no surprise that the list of top players who are expected to be in
attendance includes 6'5 Shabazz Muhammad
from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV,
6'2 Devon Bookert from Las Vegas (Impact Academy) NV, 6'8
Rosco Allen from Las
Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, 6'8 Ben Carter from Las Vegas (Bishop
Gorman) NV, 6'9 Demetrius Morant from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman)
NV, and 6'10 Frosh Stephen Zimmerman from Las Vegas (Bishop
Gorman) NV. Trigonis also once again plans to get a great head
start on the future with the four camps that he has scheduled in
October. The first will be the Fullcourt Press All-Frosh/Soph Camp,
which will be held at a site yet to be determined in Southern California
on Saturday, October 1st, and Sunday, October 2nd. The second will
be the Pangos All-South Frosh/Soph Camp,
which will be held at Holy Innocents High School in Atlanta, GA on
Saturday, October 8th, and Sunday, October 9th. The third will be
the Pangos All-Midwest Frosh/Soph Camp,
which will be held at a site yet to be determined in Chicago, IL on
either the third or fourth weekend in October. The fourth will be
the Pangos All-East Frosh/Soph Camp,
which will be held at RiverWinds Center in West Deptford, NJ on
Saturday, October 29th, and Sunday, October 30th. Trigonis also
has a Fullcourt Press Northern Exposure Camp
scheduled on Saturday, November 5th, and Sunday, November 6th in
Calgary, Canada. We also encourage you to check Trigonis' Full Court Press
web site for even more information as it becomes available.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Rick Bolus,
who is the publisher of the High Potential
Basketball Recruiting Service, has released his post summer
ranking of the top players in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and it reinforces
what we previously thought in a number of areas. First, the senior class
in the state has a lot of good mid-major players, but the pickings are
pretty slim for schools like the University of Louisville and University of
Kentucky, as his list of the top dozen-ranked players includes 6'7 Lemon Gregory
from Greenville (Muhlenberg County) KY, 6'4 MeKale McKay from
Louisville (Moore) KY, 6'0 Jaylen Beckham from Lexington (Bryan
Station) KY, 6'7 Jay Johnson from Versailles (Woodford County) KY,
6'4 Adam Wing from Morehead (Rowan County) KY, 6'7 Devon Rowan
from Goshen (North Oldham) KY, 6'2 Taylor Barnette from Lexington
(Christian) KY, 6'3 Tamron Manning from Georgetown (Scott County) KY,
6'2 Desmond Dorsey from Jeffersontown (Scott County) KY, 6'0
Charles Foster from Louisville (Trinity) KY, 6'4 Max Clemons from
Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY, and 6'8 Sawyer Williams from
Owenton (Owen County) KY. Second, there are some pretty good young
players in state, as his list of the top dozen underclassmen includes 6'4 Jr
Darryl Hicks from Louisville (Trinity) KY, 6'8 Jr Derrick Willis
from Mt. Washington (Bullitt East) KY, 6'3 Soph D'Angelo Russell from
Louisville (Central) KY, 5'11 Soph Quinton Snider from Louisville
(Ballard) KY, 6'6 Soph Trey Grundy from Lexington (Henry Clay) KY,
6'2 Soph Brandon Hatton from Ft. Mitchell (Dixie Heights) KY, 6'6
Soph Justin Johnson from Inez (Sheldon Clark) KY, 6'8 Soph Jackson
Davis from Lexington (Lafayette) KY, 6'3 Jr Larry Morton from
Lexington (Bryan Station) KY, 6'4 Jr Darius Brown from Paducah (Tilghman)
KY, 6'0 Jr Dominique Hawkins from Richmond (Madison (Central) KY, and
6'4 Soph Jordan Green from Lexington (Henry Clay) KY. And this
interesting, because the top sophomores in the state have already overtaken
the top juniors, as the aforementioned group includes seven players in the
Class of 2014 and only five players in the Class of 2013. Third, there
also are some good middle school players to keep an eye on, as his report
includes youngsters like 5'10 8th Grader Braxton Beverly from Hazard
(Perry County Central) KY, 6'2 8th Grader Chris Drabo from Louisville
(Johnson Middle School) KY, 6'0 8th Grader Quentin Goodin from
Campbellsville (Taylor County Middle School) KY, and 6'0 7th Grader A.J.
Youngman from Greenup (Greenup County) KY. And, in the case of
Beverly, he started as a 7th Grader on a team that advanced into the
Kentucky State Tournament this past March. Not only does that put
him in pretty fast company, along with O.J. Mayo, who led Ashland
(Rose Hill) KY to a state tournament appearance as a 7th
Grader back in 2003, but Beverly also is good enough to be ranked among the Second
Dozen Underclassmen in the state right now. "It's too early to project
his level for college," says Bolus. "But Beverly definitely will be a
Division I point guard. He's a good playmaker, see the floor, handles,
distributes, and has surprisingly good speed, quickness, and athleticism."
Beverly also was named to play in the Top All-Star Game and shared Top
Underclassmen honors, along with 6'5 Soph Justin Johnson from Inez (Sheldon
Clark) KY, at the "Blue-Chip" Camp
at Georgetown College in Georgetown, KY on July 17th-22nd. Drabo also
played in the High School Division and played well enough make the Second
All-Star Game. Goodin and Youngman also were at this session of camp
and the former was named the Camp Runner-up MVP in the Junior Division and
the latter was one of only two 7th Graders to be named to play in the
"Blue-Chip" Junior All-Star Game. Now also is probably a good time to
mention that the Blue-Chip Camp's
Junior Division included some other very good players, like 5'11 8th Grader Brad Hall from Milford, OH,
who took home Camp MVP honors; 6'3 8th Grader Spencer Cline from
Mason (H.S.) OH, who took home All-Star Game MVP honors; and 6'0 Frosh
Calvin Johnson from Killeen (Shoemaker) TX, who took home All-Star Game
Runner-Up MVP honors. Among the other names to remember from this
session's High School Division are 6'1 James "Woo" Brown from Trotwood
(Trotwood-Madison) OH, who was named the Camp MVP and also was the Runner-up
MVP in the Top All-Star Game; 6'7 Jauan Akins
from Radcliff (North Hardin) KY, who was named the Camp Runner-up MVP;
5'9 Aaron Edwards from Payson (Payson Seymour) IL, who was named the
MVP in the Top All-Star Game; and 6'2 8th Grader Yalen Reed from
Antioch (Lighthouse Christian) TN, who not only played up, but was good
enough to be named to play in the Top All-Star Game.
For more information about either the camp or his
latest report, we encourage you to contact Bolus via phone at 1-502-543-7308,
email at
bolus@insightbb.com, or by going to his"Blue-Chip"
Basketball Campweb site.

Tuesday August 23, 2011

Our Georgia Editor
Horace Neysmith was at the Nashville
EliteHoopShowcase in Nashville, TN over the weekend and he
provides us with peek at what the future looks like in the Volunteers State
with his list of the top players at the camp. It begins with 6'4 Soph
Davelle Roby from Memphis (White Station) TN, who has good size and
athleticism for the point guard position. "He consistently attacked
the gaps and found open teammates," say Neysmith. "He gets on the
boards on both ends and is every effective in the open or half court.
He's also good defender and is hearing from Memphis, Arkansas, Georgetown,
La Salle, Massachusetts, and Southeast Missouri." Another guy who
deserves special mention is 6'0 Jr D.J. Bowles from Cleveland (H.S.)
TN. "He's a strong aggressive point guard," says Neysmith. "He
uses his solid frame and quickness to get into the lane for pull-ups and
floaters and is a good decision maker off the high screen. Memphis is
showing early interest." There also was 5'11 Alex Anderson from
Memphis (Wooddale) TN, 7'0 Jr Sam Edwards from Memphis (Oakhaven) TN,
6'2 Trey Polk from Bolivar (H.S.) TN, 6'6 William Powell from
Huntsville (H.S.) AL, 6'3 Jr Jacob McLennan from Huntland (H.S.) TN
6'0 Zack Jones from Huntsville (H.S.) AL, 6'1 Jr Connor Payne
from Eads (Briarcrest) TN, 6'6 Soph Marcanvis Hymon from Memphis
(Whitehaven) TN, 6'6 Jr Jamontae Davis from Hillsboro) TN, and 6'2
Soph Jerry Johnson from Memphis (Wooddale) TN. "Anderson has
the speed and craftiness to beat his man to the paint," says Neysmith.
"He also knows how to involve others and is tough to guard on ball screens,
because he shoots it well off the dribble. He has offers from Middle
Tennessee State, Southeast Missouri State, Eastern Kentucky and will make an
official visit to Dayton in September. Edwards is a big fella.
He's raw, but, like they say, you can't teach size. This lefty does
have a soft shot around the bucket and a willingness to work hard to
improve. Memphis, Auburn, Ole Miss, Nebraska, and Arkansas are among
his early offers. Polk is a good shoot shooter who knows how to use
screens to get his shot. He also does a good job attacking off the
catch and was one of the best defenders that I saw all weekend. Furman
and Murray State are showing the most interest. Powell is a good
shooter with a high motor and a strong body that allows him to finish drives
with contact. He also was very good in transition and is getting
interest from Middle Tennessee State, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Virginia
Commonwealth, Tulane, LSU, and Alabama. McLennan is a rebounding guard
with a good stroke. He also defends well on the ball and in the
passing lanes. Middle Tennessee State and IPFW are showing interest.
Jones is a quick guard with good playmaking abilities. He also makes
good use of his hesitation dribble to beat the defender and is drawing
interest from Murray State, Samford, and Middle Tennessee State. Payne
is a good spot-up shooter and uses his ability to knock down shots and to
drive into the lane. He also is great student and is hearing from Yale
and Columbia. Hymon is a slender bouncy forward who plays with energy
and toughness and is a good mid-range shooter. He also consistently
contested shots, rebounded on both ends, and played through contact, which
allowed him to finish plays. Davis is a springy forward who showed a
solid perimeter game to 18-feet. He even stepped out and knocked down
a couple of treys and was an active rebounder on both ends. Johnson
knows who to score the ball and has range beyond the arc. His use of
shot fakes and good body gets him into the lane for baskets. He also
has improved defensively." Other players who distinguished themselves
and, as a a result, deserve special recognition were 5'11 Jr Jalen
Thompson from Memphis (White Station) TN, 6'7 Soph Dyonte Bizzle-Brown
from Nashville (Montgomery Bell Academy) TN, 6'2 Kenny Griggs from
Memphis (Wooddale) TN, 6'1 Soph Daniel Norl from Clarksville
(Kenwood) TN, 6'3 Jr Amol Kaushal from Nashville (Montgomery Bell
Academy) TN, 6'7 Jr Tom Kaiser from Nashville (Montgomery Bell
Academy) TN, 6'5 Britt Headeen from Thompsons Station (Independence)
TN, 6'4 Jr Kessler Bell from Nashville (Franklin Road Academy) TN,
6'1 Soph Marcus Graves from Thompsons Station (Independence) TN, 6'2
Jr Seth Satterfield from Hazel Green (H.S.) AL, and 6'4 Frosh
Andrew Fleming from Nashville (Ensworth) TN. "Thompson is a fast
pass-first point guard," says Neysmith. "He also shot it well in the
all-star game and is a very good defender. Bizzle-Brown is a long
lanky wing with a solid stroke. He also runs the floor well and his
length and athleticism makes him tough defensively. Griggs has a very
quick first step, handles well, and his strength allows him to access the
lane. Norl is a very good spot-up shooter, moves well without the
ball, and is a good defender. Kaushal was one of the best shooters in
camp. He showed his deep shooting range with five in a row and seven
of nine 3-pointers right out of the gate. Kaiser does a good job of
making himself available for his guards to drop and finish. He also is
a solid post defender. Headden is a slasher who can also knock down
18-footers. Bell is an undersized forward who shoots it well from
17-feet-an- in and uses his body well to defend in the post. Graves is
a lefty with a good stroke and feel for the game. He also does a good
hob of setting up his teammates. Satterfield has deep range and was
another one of the camp's best shooters. Fleming is a smart player
with good vision, the ability create contact on drives, and good range on
his jumper."

Two of the guys who
really helped themselves the most this summer were 6'2 Devon Bookert
from Las Vegas (Impact Academy) NV and 6'5 Darrick Wood from Newark (Nia
Prep) NJ. We bring this up because the former picked Florida State on
Friday and the latter verbally committed to St. John's on Saturday.
And there is no doubt that Wood is an important catch for the Red Storm for
a number of reasons. First, Wood has big time athleticism, is
versatile enough to play multiple positions, and can flat out shoot the
basketball. Second, he is a very good player, as is evident by the
fact that he is ranked #52 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP
SCOOP. Third, Wood is the club team teammate of 6'8 Kyle
Anderson from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, who is ranked #3 nationally
in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and plans to decide from among
a list of schools that includes St. John's, Seton Hall, Florida, Georgetown,
and UCLA on September 20th. Fourth, Wood is the second piece to the
puzzle in a recruiting class that already includes 6'7 Ricardo Gathers
from LaPlace (Riverside Academy) LA, who is ranked #13 nationally in the
senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and comes on the heels of a
recruiting class that was ranked #1 in our Final Ranking of the Top
Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2011 and included the likes of
6'3 Nurideen
Lindsey from Redlands (JC) OK, 6'7 Maurice Harkless from South Kent
(Prep) CT, 6'3
DeAngelo Harrison from Missouri City (Ft. Bend Dulles) TX, 6'6 Amir Garrett
from Henderson (Findley Prep) NV, 6'8
Jakarr Sampson from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'9 God's Gift Achiuwa
from Erie (JC) NY, 6'9 Norvel Pelle from Los Angeles (Price) CA, 6'5 Dominique Pointer
from Winston-Salem (Quality Education Academy) NC, and 6'1 Phil Greene
from Bradenton (IMG Academy) FL. Bookert is the point guard that got everybody excited when he led Branch West Elite
to that stunning upset against the Oakland Soldiers a month ago in the
Las Vegas Fab 48 Tournament. And Bookert is exactly what the
doctor ordered for the Seminoles head coach Leonard Hamilton, who
currently does not have pure point guard in the program. We're talking
about a facilitator who knows how to control the game, make those around him
better, and does a great job of running the show. Ironically, the
first school to offer Bookert after he blew up in Las Vegas was Florida
State and like Bookert so much that he is ranked #7 on our List of
the Top 5th Year Players, which makes him the equivalent of a top 50-100
range senior nationally. Bookert also promises to be an excellent
complement to 6'5 Aaron Thomas from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH,
who originally signed with Florida State a year ago when he was a high
school senior at Cincinnati (Aiken) OH and now is being stashed away at a
prep school. We also are impressed with the way the new coaching staff
a Georgia Tech is locking up some of the better players in their backyard.
If you will recall, the last time we talked about recruiting a
week-and-a-half ago we mentioned that the Yellow Jackets had landed 6'3 Chris
Bolden from Suwanee (North Gwinnett) GA. And coming right on the
heels of that verbal commitment was the decision by 6'6 Marcus Hunt
from North Clayton (H.S.) GA to also stay home. "Hunt is like a
jack-of-all-trades, "says our Georgia Editor Horace Neysmith.
"He's a strong physical athlete who gets to the hole, knocks down the
outside shot, rebounds well for his size, and is good defensively." We
also think Holy Cross may have stolen one in 6'2 Cullen Hamilton
from Dumfries (Potomac School) VA. He's can flat out shoot the
basketball, has excellent footwork, and is a very good defensive player.
And this is important, because Hamilton promises to be a perfect complement in the backcourt to 5'7 Frosh
Justin Burrell, who also attended Dumfries (Potomac School) VA prior to
going the prep school route a year ago to Waynesboro (Fitchburg Military
Academy) VA. It also looks like second-year Holy Cross head coach
Milan Brown went back to
his old stamping grounds in late June when he got a verbal commitment from
6'7 Chris Morgan from Gloucester (H.S.) VA. Morgan is an
athletic four-man who can run, jump, and block shots, has some skills, and
is a straight "A" student. There also is the verbal commitment that
6'5 Jared Drew from Indianapolis (Cathedral) IN made last night to
Saint Louis University. Drew is long and athletic, plays excellent
defense, is a tough hardnosed competitor, and is a good 3-point shooter.
However, it's Drew's upside and potential that had schools like Detroit,
IUPUI, and Missouri State battling the Billikens for his services. We
also have to give the verbal commitment that 6'0 David Travers from
Carlsbad (La Costa Canyon) CA made a week ago to Georgia State special
mention for several reasons. First, we've been watching this kid since
his junior high school days at the adidas Junior Phenom Camp and he's
one of those guys who would dive through a brick wall, if it would help his
team win. Second, he's a pretty good player, thanks to his good ball
handling and passing skills, understanding of how to run a team, and ability
to both get to the basket and beat you with his outside shooting.
Third, he's a great kid, excellent student, and the ultimate overachiever on
the basketball court. Other recent verbal commitments that we've run
across include 6'2 L.J. Westbrook from Salem (North Salem) OR to
Oregon State, 6'8 Josh Smith from Charlotte (Olympic) NC to Clemson,
6'3 Patrick Ingram from Indianapolis (North Central) IN to the
University of Iowa, 6'4 Wally Ellenson from Rice Lake (H.S.) MN to
the University of Minnesota, 6'7 Terry Allen from Manvel (H.S.) TX to
the University of Richmond, 6'8 T.J. Bell from Charleston (H.S.) IL
to Indiana State, 6'7 Jameel Warney from Roselle (Catholic) NJ to
Stony Brook, 6'2 Stan Wier from Buffalo (East Aurora) NY to the
University of Buffalo, and 6'7 Tommy Carpenter from Northfield
(Northfield-Mt. Hermon) MA to Dartmouth.

The next event on
our schedule is Boost Mobile Elite 24 Game,
which will be held for the second consecutive year in Venice Beach, CA on
Saturday, August 27th. And the list of players expected to be
in attendance is nothing short of spectacular, as the Raymond
Lewis Squad will feature 6'9 Brandon Ashley from Henderson
(Findlay Prep) NV, 5'7 Jr Aquille Carr from Baltimore (Patterson) MD,
6'8 Perry Ellis from Wichita (Heights) KS, 6'5 Savon Goodman
from Bryn Athyn (Academy of the New Church) PA, 6'8 Amile Jefferson
from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA, 6'10 Mitch McGary from Wolfeboro
(Brewster Academy) NH, 6'5 Shabazz Muhammad from Las Vegas (Bishop
Gorman) NV, 6'1 Marcus Paige from Marion (Linn-Mar) IA, 6'9 Tony
Parker from Lithonia (Miller Grove) GA, 6'4 Rodney Purvis from
Raleigh (Upper Room Christian Academy) NC, 6'9 Cameron Ridley from
Richmond (Ft. Bend Bush) TX, and 6'2 Gabe York from Orange (Lutheran)
CA and the Marques Johnson Squad will
feature 6'5 Justin Anderson from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD,
6'8 Kyle Anderson from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'8 Anthony
Bennett from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'1 Jr Nate Britt from
Washington (Gonzaga) DC, 6'8 Robert Carter from Snellville (Shiloh)
GA, 6'9 DeJuan Coleman from Dewitt (Jamesville-Dewitt) NY, 6'5 Jr
Aaron Harrison from Richmond (Ft. Bend Travis) TX, 6'5 Jr Andrew
Harrison from Richmond (Ft. Bend Travis) TX, 6'9 Grant Jarrett
from La Verne (Lutheran) CA, 610 Jr Nerlens Noel from Tilton (School)
NH, 6'9 Jr Julius Randle from Plano (Prestonwood Christian) TX, and
6'3 Rasheed Sulaimon from Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX. And,
to put this into even better perspective, this year's game will feature our
#1-ranked 5th Year Player (McGary), four of our top five-ranked seniors
(Muhammad, Anderson, Parker, and Jefferson), seven more players that fall
into the the 6-15 range of this year's seniors class (Ashley, Bennett,
Coleman, Purvis, Sulaimon, Goodman, and Paige), and five of our top
10-ranked juniors (Randle, Noel, Aaron Harrison, Britt, and Andrew
Harrison). There also will be a Training/Scrimmage/Media Day from
1:30-5:30 PM on Thursday, August 25th, and a Slam Dunk Contest at 6:00 PM ET on Friday, August 26th,
and both the dunk contest and the game itself, which will tip-off the next
day at 7:00 PM, will be televised live on ESPNU. This actually is
the6th Annual Boost Mobile Elite 24 Game
dating back to 2006 when the game was launched by Rise Magazine
and played for four consecutive years in the famed Rucker Park in New York
City. And the best player in the first two games was Brandon Jennings, who happens to be one of
this year's game celebrity coaches, along with Kevin Love,Kemba Walker,
John Wall, Tyreke Evans, and Jason Williams. The
head coach of the Raymond Lewis Squad
will be Jason Hart, who is the new head coach at Woodland Hills
(Taft) CA, and the head coach of the Marques Johnson Squad will be Grant
Rice, who is the head coach at Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV. Boost
Mobile once again is the title sponsor of the game. Under Armour is
the title sponsor of the dunk contest and the official apparel sponsor.
Wilson is the official ball sponsor and Gatorade is the official hydration
sponsor. We also think it is interesting to point out that this year's
game will feature one 5th Year Player, 17 seniors, and six juniors and seven
of the 24 players in the game are already off the board, as 6'9 Grant
Jerrett from La Verne (Lutheran) CA and 6'2 Gabe York from Orange
(Lutheran) CA are both already bound for the University of Arizona, 6'3
Rasheed Sulaimon from Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX is bound for Duke, 6'5
Savon Goodman from Bryn Athyn (Academy of the New Church) PA is bound
for Villanova, 6'1 Marcus Paige from Marion (Linn-Mar) IA is bound
for North Carolina, 6'9 Cameron Ridley from Richmond (Ft. Bend Bush)
TX is bound for the University of Texas, and 6'5 Justin Anderson from
Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD is bound for the University of Virginia.
Another interesting tidbit involves 6'9 DeJuan Coleman from Dewitt
(Jamesville-Dewitt) NY, who becomes the fourth player to appear in three
different Boost Mobile Elite 24
games. The other three were Lance Stephenson, Dexter
Strickland, and LaQuinton Ross. We also find it interesting
that 25 Boost Mobile Elite 24
alumni have been gone on to be first-round picks in the NBA Draft and the
past two #1-picks in the NBA Draft (John Wall in 2010 and Kyrie
Irving in 2011) both played in the game.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Travis Haddock, who is the
President and CEO of Haddock Sports, a Memphis-based Sports Promotional
Company, and Steve Woodward, who used to be the athletic director at
Marshall County High School in Benton, KY and was the driving force behind
the Marshall County Hoopfest, have teamed up and are in the process
of putting together what promise to be two of the premier high school
basketball events in the entire country. The first event isPenny Hardaway's Hoopfest,
which will held at White Station High School in Memphis, TN on January
20th-21st in 2012. The second event, which, as of yet, does not have an
official name, will tip-off in Las Vegas, NV on January 25th-26th of 2013. And,
with all of their contacts and go-getter style and mentality, you can
bet that Haddock and Woodward will have teams like Henderson (Findlay Prep)
NV, Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, Chicago
(Simeon) IL, Montverde (Academy) FL, and Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA lined up
right off the bat to play in this Las Vegas-based event. As for this
winter's Penny Hardaway's Hoopfest,things will actually begin on Friday morning when the players,
coaches, media, and sponsors are all invited to attend a prayer breakfast
and take a tour of the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, which is
internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and
saving children with pediatric cancer. And right after that
everybody's education will continue with a tour of the National Civil Rights
Museum, which also is an important Mid-South historical attraction and a
must stop for all of the out-of-town people attending this
event. The event itself will tip-off with a pair of girls games
at 3:00 PM and 4:30 PM, followed by Memphis (White Station) TN versus
Montverde (Academy) FL at 6:00 PM, Memphis (Craigmont) TN versus Mouth of
Wilson (Oak Hill) VA at 7:30 PM, and Nashville (Ensworth) TN versus
Centereach (Our Savior New American) TN on 9:00 PM. The schedule on
Saturday, January 21st will also begin with a girls game at 9:30 AM,
followed by Memphis (Christian Brothers) TN versus Newbern (Dyer County) TN
at 11:00 AM, Eads (Briarcrest Christian) TN versus Centereach (Our Savior
New American) NY at 12:30 PM, Memphis (White Station) TN versus Birmingham
(Central Park Christian) AL at 2:00 PM, Memphis (Southwind) TN versus
Nashville (Ensworth) TN at 3:30 PM, Memphis (Ridgeway) TN versus Montverde
(Academy) FL at 5:00 PM, Memphis (Melrose) TN versus Mouth of Wilson (Oak
Hill) VA at 6:30 PM, and Chicago (Simeon) IL versus a team yet to be
determined at 8:00 PM. The long list of outstanding players who will
be participating at this inaugural Penny Hardaway's Hoopfest, includes 6'9 Jarnell Stokes
from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'5 Jordan Adams from Mouth of
Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 5'11 Tyler Lewis from Mouth of Wilson (Oak
Hill) VA, 6'8 Steve Taylor from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 6'4 Michael
Frazier from Montverde (Academy) FL, 6'5 Damien Wilson from Mouth
of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'0 Jevon Thomas from Centereach (Our Savior
New American) NY, 6'6 Jordon Tebbutt from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill)
VA, 6'11 A.J. Hammons from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'9
Christopher Obekpa from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 5'9
Cameron Golden from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, 6'6 Kadario Fleming
from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, 6'1 Robert Houston from Memphis (Craigmont)
TN, 5'11 Fred Yarbrough from Newbern (Dyer County) TN, 6'8 Jr
Jabari Parker from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 6'1 Jr Kasey Hill from
Montverde (Academy) FL, 6'8 Jr Jonathan Williams from Memphis (Southwind)
TN, 6'1 Jr Kendrick Nunn from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 6'9 Jr Austin
Nichols from Eads (Briarcrest Christian) TN, 6'2 Jr Jaylon Tate
from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 6'7 Jr Chris Davenport from Montverde
(Academy) FL, 6'2 Jr Ikenna Iroegbu from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill)
VA, 6'4 Jr R.J Curington from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 5'9 Jr
Corn Elder from Nashville (Ensworth) TN, 6'4 Jr Robert Hubbus
from Newbern (Dyer County) TN, 6'10 Soph Dakari Johnson from
Montverde (Academy) FL, and 6'7 Soph LeRon Black from Memphis (White
Station) TN. Woodward also makes note of the fact that proceeds from
the Penny Hardaway's Hoopfest
will go toSt. Jude's Children's Research
Hospital.

Our Georgia Editor Horace Neysmith was at the
Birmingham EliteHoops Showcase, which was held over the
weekend in Birmingham, AL, and he tells us that the big story was 6'6 Jr Detrick
Mostellafrom Decatur (Austin)
AL, who emerged as one of the top sleeper prospects nationally in the Class
of 2013. "Mostella was more than just the most athletic player at the camp,
as he consistently hit shots from deep and mid-range, created scoring
opportunities off the bounce, and really has improved defensively," says
Neysmith. "Miami-FL offered and he also is garnering interest from Auburn,
Alabama, UAB, and Murray State." Other prospects in the camp who already
are getting high major attention are 6'7 Jr D'Ontaye Curtis from
Hoover (H.S.) AL, 6'6 Jr Seab Webster from Gurley (Madison County)
AL, 6'0 Jr Trevon Landry from Huntsville (Bob Jones) AL, and 5'9 Jr
J.J. Frazier from Hinesville (Faith Baptist Christian) GA. "Curtis is a hybrid forward wit a
good stroke," says Neysmith. "He also can beat you off the dribble or from
the block, is blessed with good hands and passing ability, and will be a
high major prospect. Schools like UAB, Bucknell, Alabama, Auburn, Oklahoma
State, and Virginia already are showing a high level of interest. Webster
has a high basketball IQ and makes good use of shot fakes to create driving
angles. He's also a good rebounder, passes well from the high post or
block, and is not bothered by contact. Mercer has already offered and
schools like Alabama, Auburn, Oklahoma State, and Virginia are interested. Landry
is a powerfully built floor general with an explosive first step that allows
him to get into the lane for tough finishes or the assist. He's also very
good defensively and is being recruited by schools like Vanderbilt, Texas
A&M, Alabama, and Oregon.Frazier was the fastest player from end-to-end with the
ball. He can hurt you in multiple ways in transition,
pull-up three, stop-and-pop, or finish to the basket. He's also a good
passer and has interest from schools like Georgia, Clemson, Miami-FL, South
Carolina, Georgia State." Neysmith also thought
6'3 Jr Aaron Scott from Hinesville (Liberty County) GA, 6'3
Cameron Neysmith from Woodstock (Massanutten Military) VA, 6'0 Jaquez
Motley from Hinesville (Faith Baptist Christian) GA, 6'0 Matthias
Sigurdarson from Mountain Brook (H.S.) AL, 6'0 Mario Stramaglia
from Mountain Brook) AL played well enough to deserve special mention.
"Scott is an athletic guard that shot it well all weekend," says Neysmith.
" He scores attacking the basket and on the offensive glass and he too has a
chance to be a high major prospect. Jacksonville has offered and the
College of Charleston, Miami-FL, and Tulane are also showing interest. Neysmith is a lefty that was tough to stop this weekend. He's a creative
ball-handler with very good court vision and a feel for the game. He also
has quick hands defensively and attacks the basket for contrast finishes or
the assist. He's receiving interest from schools like Manhattan, Colorado
State, North Florida, and Texas-Arlington. Motley is a quick lead guard
with a solid pull-up game. He attacks the basket well for floater finishes
and is a tough on the ball defender. He already has an offer from Western
Kentucky and schools like Wofford and the College of Charleston are showing
interest. Sigurdarson is a recent move-in from Iceland who can run a
team. He also handles ball well and knows how to get into the lane to find
the open man. William & Mary, Mercer, East Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech, Coastal
Carolina, and Samford all have interest. Stramaglia is one of the top
shooters in the state and showed that tag all weekend. He also has really
improved his ball handling and that gives him an added dimension of scoring
off the dribble. He also is a strong defender, rebounds his position, and is a
steal for East Tennessee State." One to write down for the future is 6'6 Frosh
Danjell Purefoy from Centerville (Bibb County) AL. "This young wing
has elite level potential," says Neysmith. "He has good vision, ball
handling, and length, which allows him to play multiple positions." We also
don't want to forget about 5''10 Jr Fred
Knight from Atmore (Scambia) AL, who Neysmith says was the second
most athletic player at the camp. He was fearless attacking the basket, a
high energy defender, and very good in transition. Other players who
deserve a mention are 6'0 Fletcher Forte from
Pensacola (H.S.) FL, 6'1 Jr Sean Brennan from Roswell (H.S.) GA, 6'4
Jr Malik Broughton from Kathleen (Veterans) GA, 6'6 Soph Greg King
from Lithonia (Marin Luther King) GA, 6'6 Soph Brandon Murphy from
Montgomery (Carver) AL, 6'0 Jibril Hayes from Plantersville (Dallas
County) AL, 6'6 Jr Shamar Johnson from Pensacola (Pine Forest) FL,
6'5 Jr Marcelle Jackson from Birmingham (Minor) AL, 6'2 Soph Paul
Jackson from Lithonia (Martin Luther King) GA, and 6'5 Jeremy Postell
from Atlanta (Westlake) GA. "Forte is a long range lefty shooter,"
says Neysmith. "He knows how to use screens to get his shot and has
a good feel for the game. The low-to-mid's need to take a look. Brennan
is a tough heady point who makes good use of the change of pace dribble.
He also can score the ball when needed by getting to the basket or from
deep. He has an unofficial visit scheduled this fall to Bucknell. Broughton is a tough
defender and shot blocker. His long arms allow him to defend bigger
players and he runs the floor well and is solid from 15-feet. King is an
athletic defensive forward who is very good on the glass on both ends of
floor. He also is developing an offensive game, loves to attack the
rim off the catch, and has interest from George Mason and College of
Charleston. Murphy is a big bodied power player with good hands, is tough
to handle on the block, and is a good finisher. Hayes has a good body
and uses his creative handle to get into the lane for finishes or to find
open teammate. Johnson is another wide-bodied undersized big with good
hands and feet and he knows how to get position on the block. Jackson
is an athletic defender who challenged shots above the rim all weekend.
His offensive game is improving, he's got lots of upside, and
Tennessee Tech. is already in the hunt. The other Jackson is a slippery point who is wired to
score. He also has solid frame, good vision and toughness, and is
going to be a good prospect. Powell is a lefty with good range on his
jumper. His size and length allows him to play either wing position."

Friday, August 12 2011

Earlier today I had the privilege of being able to attend the iHoops First Team Summer
Conference at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine Hotel in
San Diego, CA and I received a first hand look at the official youth basketball initiative of the NCAA and the NBA.
The two driving forces behind the iHoops First Team program are Greg
Turner, who is the Associate Director of Programs, and Duke Pryor,
who is the Assistant Director of Programs, and this "year round education and mentoring program designed to promote
education and the proper role of athletics in the educational process" is
exactly what the doctored ordered to help these student-athletes make an
informed college decision and be successful both on and off the court the rest of
their lives. "It helps prospective basketball student-athletes and their parents navigate
the collegiate recruiting process and understand initial eligibility
requirements. Participants are identified by their athletic ability but not
selected solely on that basis. They enter the program as rising ninth
graders and remain in the program throughout high school." First Team
alumni includes Cole Aldrich, Darryl Bryant, D.J. Byrd,
Michael Conley, Daequan Cook, Randy Culpepper, Austin
Freeman, Sterling Gibbs, Eric Gordon, P.J. Hill,
Kyrie Irving, Brandon Knight, Kendall Marshall, O.J.
Mayo, Leslie McDonald, Sean Mosley, Greg Oden,
Patrick Patterson, Travis Releford, Jonathan Scheyer, Jerry Smith,
Josh Smith, Dexter Strickland, Billy Walker, and
Chris Wright. Among the sessions that were offered yesterday were
"What's in a Ranking? Understanding the Digital World of Scouting," "Making
the Decision & Making the Transition," "Recruiting & IE (Initial
Eligibility)," "I Got This/Sophomore Jinx," "2 Down 2 To Go,"
"Talk to Me (Communications/Media Training)," "Five Key Players of
a Winning Game Plan," and "Haven't you Heard? I'm the Man!"
We also enjoyed getting to see and/or talk with a number of the players who
were in attendance, like 6'3 Rasheed Sulaimon from Houston (Strake
Jesuit) TX, 6'1 Marcus Paige from Marion (Linn-Mar) IA, 6'3 James
Robinson from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'9 Grant Jerrett from La
Verne (Lutheran) AZ, 6'1 Mike Gessell from South Sioux City (H.S.)
NE, 6'2 Dallas Anglin from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, 6'9 Jr
Jonathan Williams from Memphis (Southwind) TN, 6'1 Jr Nate Britt
from Washington (Gonzaga) DC, 6'9 Jr Austin Colbert from Elizabeth
(St. Patrick) NJ, 6'7 Jr Alex Foster from Chicago (De La Salle) IL,
6'5 Jr Colin Hartman from Indianapolis (Cathedral) IN, 6'10 Soph
Dakari Johnson from Montverde (Academy) FL, 5'9 Soph Parker
Cartwright from Los Angeles (Loyola) CA, 6'6 Soph Paul White from
Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, 6'0 Soph Tyus Jones from Apple Valley (H.S.)
MN, 6'0 Soph Larry Austin from Springfield (Lanphier) IL, 6'5 Soph
Jackson Davis from Lexington (Lafayette) KY, 6'0 Frosh
Allonzo Trier from Oklahoma City, OK, 6'2 Frosh Isaiah Briscoe
from Union, NJ, 6'10 Frosh Stephen Zimmerman from Las Vegas, NV, and
6'7 Frosh Daniel Giddens from Marietta, GA. Another one of the
highlights was getting a chance to see Lawrence Funderburke, who was
happy to remind us that we had him ranked among the top 10 high school
players in the nation, instead of the top five, back when he was a senior at
Columbus (Wehrle) OH in 1989. Funderburke, who is now a financial
planner and Founder & President of The Lawrence Funderburke Youth
Organization, Inc, also did a great job of providing insight into the "Five
Reasons Why Pro Athletes Go Broke" and the "Money Ball - Life & Financial
Planning Playbook" when he talked about the "Five Key Players of
a Winning Game Plan." We also thought Anthony Calhoun, who
is the Sports Director at WISH-TV Channel in Indianapolis, IN, did a great
job of providing insight and perspective into dealing with the media in the
session "Talk to Me (Communications/Media Training). I also was
honored to join ESPN.com's Paul Biancardi and Derek Whittenburg,
who has done it all as a player, coach, and television analyst, in the
session
"What's in a Ranking? Understanding the Digital World of Scouting."
Last, but not least, Turner and Pryor did a great job on their "Late
Day with Greg Turner" television program, which included San
Diego Chargers Director of Player Development Arthur Hightower,
Root Sports Color Analyst Francis Williams, and Kyrie Irving,
who was the #1-ranked pick in the NBA Draft a month-and-a-half ago. We
also think it is interesting to point out that the
iHoops Board Members include NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam
Silver, NBA Executive Vice President of Social Responsibility and Player
Programs Kathy Behrens, NBA Executive VP of Basketball Operations
Stu Jackson, NCAA, Vice President of Division I Women's Basketball
Sue Donohoe, NCAA Senior VP of Basketball and Business Strategies
Greg Shaheen, and Duke University Men's Basketball Coach Mike
Krzyzewski. The iHoops Staff
includes Chief Executive Officer Len Elmore, Director of Digital
Media Matt Bortz, Vice President of Sales Steve Hagen,
Director of Finance & Administration Ronda Hite, Manager of Events
and Special Projects Sheli Kuhl, Associate Director of Marketing
Juli Morris, Assistant Director of Programs Duke Pryor, Sales
Activation Manager Whitney Rubush, and Associate Director of Programs
Greg Turner. The iHoops Advisory
Committee includes Women's Basketball Coaches Association,
Executive Director Beth Bass, WNBA Vice President of Basketball
Operations & Player Relations Renee' Brown, Amateur Athletic Union,
President Bobby Dodd, National Basketball Coaches Association,
Executive Director Michael Goldberg, Albany City Rocks, Director
Jim Hart, National Federation of High School Associations, Executive
Director Bob Kanaby, Special Assistant to the Commissioner/NBA Global
Ambassador Bob Lanier, National Association of Basketball Coaches,
Deputy Executive Director Reggie Minton, NCAA, Retired Head Men's
Basketball Coach (South Carolina and Wake Forest) Dave Odom, NIKE,
Manager/Women's College Basketball Jim Pizzotti, USA Basketball,
Executive Director Jim Tooley, YMCA of the USA, Corporate Relations
Manager Layney McGinn, Boys & Girls Club of America, Vice President
of Corporate & Partner Relationships Frank Sanchez, and Boo Williams
Summer League, President Boo Williams. Unfortunately the one
person missing is Neil Dougherty, who had been working as the
Director of Athlete and Coach Programs for Ihoops prior to
dying of an apparent heart attack in early July. Dougherty previously
was the head coach at Texas Christian and an assistant coach at the
University of Kansas during the Roy Williams era. He also was a
long time friend of the HOOP SCOOP and we always looked forward his
keen wit, insight, and perspective. Needless to say, Dougherty
was one of the good guys and his loss is a tragedy.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Now that we've got
our all-encompassing coverage of the Junior Phenom Camp
out of the way and we're done putting the finishing touches on our
coverage of all of the events that our Philadelphia/Eastern
Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin has covered during the
last month, we can now turn our focus onto all of the verbal commitments
that have occurred during the last week. We start with the decision that 5'11 Javan Felix from New Orleans (St. Augustine) LA
made a couple of days ago to attend the University of Texas. And this is interesting for a number of
reasons. First, Felix not only is ranked #22 nationally in the senior
class by the HOOP SCOOP, but he also was the only elite point guard
in the Class of 2012 who was still available, as 5'11 Kevin Ferrell
from Indianapolis (Park Tudor) IN is already gone to Indiana, 6'1 Marcus
Paige from Marion (Linn-Mar) IL is already gone to North Carolina, 6'0
Dominic Artis from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV is already gone to
UCLA, 6'3 Ryan Arcidiacono from Langhorne (Neshaminy) PA is already
gone to Villanova, and 5'11 Tyler Lewis from Mouth of Wilson (Oak
Hill) VA is already gone to N.C. State. Second, Felix is picking a
school that is already well stocked with talented young players, like 6'3
Myck Kabongo from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV and 6'0
Sterling Gibbs from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ,
at the point guard position. It's our guess that Kabongo will be a
one-and-done guy just like Avery Bradley and Cory Joseph were
each of the last two years. However, it will interesting to see
whether Felix walks right in and takes over at point guard a year from now
or whether Longhorns head coach Rick Barnes attempts to play both of
these two guys a lot together in the backcourt. Remember, Gibbs is a
no frills kind of guy who was ranked #57 in our Final Ranking of the Top
Players Nationally in the Class of 2011 and Felix is currently ranked
#22 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP after putting up
prolific numbers and absolutely shooting the lights out in the adidas
Super 64 Tournament in Las Vegas, NV. Third, Felix joins 6'9
Cameron Ridley from Richmond (Ft. Bend Bush) TX in a recruiting class
that is now tied at #4, along with UCLA, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes
To-Date for the Class of 2012,
Our North Carolina Editor Rick Lewis tells us that 6'5 Torian
Graham from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL has reneged on his
verbal commitment to N.C. State and that 6'8 Jr Isaiah Hicks from
Oxford (Body of Christ) NC has made an early verbal commitment to the
University of North Carolina. Currently we have Hicks ranked #85
nationally in the junior class, but Lewis thinks he's better than that after
having seen this long athletic power forward play this spring and summer.
"We're talking about a high rising athlete who blocks shots, rebounds, and
scores from 10-feet and in," says Lewis. "He needs to get bigger and
stronger physically, but he's only just beginning to scratch the surface in
terms of upside and potential." Thus, explains why schools like Wake
Forest, N.C. State, Clemson, Xavier, Missouri, Memphis, Florida, and
Tennessee were also showing serious interest and why many in our business
think he's one of the elite power forward prospects in the junior class
nationally. We also think that the fact that Marquette has landed 6'8
Steve Taylor from Chicago (Simeon) IL is significant for a number
reasons. First, Taylor is more of a power forward than a wing forward
right now, but we like the way he steps out and makes opponents pay on the
perimeter with his 3-point shooting. Second, Taylor is a
very good player, as is evident by the fact that he is currently ranked #54 nationally in the senior class
by the HOOP SCOOP. Third, Taylor is clearly the best
player in the state's senior class and, as a result, should provide an
important link into what previously has been a fertile recruiting ground for
the Golden Eagles Fourth, Taylor provides an excellent complement to
6'4 T.J. Taylor from Paris (JC) TX and 6'4 Jamal Ferguson from
Norfolk (Maury) VA in a recruiting class that is ranked #12 on our list of
the Top Recruiting Classes
To-Date for the Class of 2012, We also have to assume that the Texas A&M
coaching staff is smiling right now after getting a verbal commitment late
last week from 6'2 J-Mychal Reese from Bryan (H.S.) TX and then
getting an early verbal commitment over the weekend from 6'1 Jr Kendrick
Nunn from Chicago (Simeon) IL. Reese needs to improve his decision
making in order to be a pure point guard and improve his outside shooting in
order to be great at the 2-guard spot. However, he's a big time
talent, a tremendous
athlete, and he did a great job sacrificing what he does best this summer
in order to play the point guard spot and run the team. Nunn is
currently ranked #67 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP,
but his big time athleticism, terrific outside shooting, and the fact that
he had an excellent spring and summer make him one of the hottest
up-and-coming prospects nationally in the Class of 2013. There also
are the verbal commitments by 6'5 Katin Reinhardt from Santa Ana
(Mater Dei) CA to UNLV, 6'7 Kale Abrahamson from West Des Moines
(Valley) IA to Northwestern, 6'4 Kenny Gaines from Atlanta
(Whitefield Academy) GA to the University of Georgia, and 6'3 Chris
Bolden from Suwanee (North Gwinnett) GA to Georgia Tech. That last
one is especially significant, because the Yellow Jackets coaching staff
were able to hold off schools like South Carolina, Virginia Tech USC, Boston
College, Miami-FL, Ole Miss, and Harvard to keep one of the better players
in their backyard at home. Bolden has good athleticism, can score in a
variety of ways, and he's one of those guys whose best days are still ahead
of him. Gaines picked the Bulldogs over Georgia Tech and Clemson and
this strong physical athletic combo guard also is a defensive stopper and he
plays above the rim. Abrahamson is a long lean athletic white kid with
excellent skills and the ability to flat out shoot the basketball, which
makes him ideally suited for the Wildcats' system and explains why we have
him ranked #106 nationally in the senior class. Reinhardt checks in at
#70 on that same list and he brings several important things to the table,
like being able to put up prolific numbers and providing the new Runnin'
Rebels coaching staff with that always important link into Southern
California. Also very important is the fact that Reinhardt is one of
those guys with that competitive attitude, but he's not so good that he's
going to scare off 6'5 Shabazz Muhammad from Las Vegas (Bishop
Gorman) NV, who is the #1-ranked player nationally in the senior class by
the HOOP SCOOP and is at the top of UNLV's wish list. It also
looks like LSU has stolen one of those under the radar screen guys out of
their backyard in 6'3 Malik Morgan from River Rouge (John Curtis) LA,
Creighton has landed a guy who can really score in 6'2 Isaiah Zierden
from St. Louis Park (Benilde Saint Margaret) MN, and Loyola-Chicago hsa
filled somel immediate needs with the addition of 6'3 Darrell Combs
from Thornwood (South Holland) IL, 6'8 Nick Osborne from Muncie
(Central) IN, and 6'7 Matt O'Leary from Terre Haute (North Vigo) IN. It also is being reported that 6'6 Sanjay Lumpkin
from St. Louis Park (Benilde-Saint Margaret) MN has picked Northwestern, 6'8
D'Andre Wright from Lawton (Eisenhower) OK has picked Tulsa, 6'9 Jr
Bobby Portis from Little Rock (Hall) AR has made an early verbal
commitment to Arkansas, and 5'10 Jr I.J. Ready from Little Rock
(Parkview) AR has picked Nebraska over schools like Arkansas and Texas A&M.

If there was any
question previously about 5'0 6th Grader Chase Adams
from Park Forest, IL being the #1-ranked player in the Class of 2018, he put
it to rest with his total dominance in the 6th Grade Division at the Junior Phenom Camp,
which was held over the weekend in San Diego, CA. Adams has amazing
ball handling and passing skills, is quick enough to get the basket pretty
much whenever he wants, plays excellent defense, and was one of the most
unselfish players in camp, which helped make the 6th Grade All-Star Game one
of the best all-star games that we've seen in a long time. As a matter
of fact, Adams is pound-for-pound inch-for-inch arguably the best player
that we've seen in the eight years that we've been covering this camp and we
can't help but wonder how he would have done if they'd put him the 8th Grade
All-Star Game and let him go head-to-head against the top older kids in camp.
Adams also appears to be a great kid and, as of yet, does not appear to be
corrupted by receiving all the attention and notoriety that goes with being
the best player nationally in his class. There also were a number of
other great stories at this year's Junior Phenom Camp,
including the one that involves three brothers - 6'0 8th Grader Lonzo
Ball from Chino Hills, CA, 5'11 7th Grader LiAAngelo Ball from
Chino Hills, CA, and 5'0 5th Grader Lamelo Ball from Chino Hills, CA,
all of whom were good enough to be ranked among the top 15 players in camp
and play in the all-star game in their respective age groups. They
also all have very good athleticism, are very good at shooting the
basketball, and, with normal progression and development, should have big
upsides and great
futures. We also find it ironic that the MVP Award in two of the all-star
games went to a players on the losing team. However, 5'11 8th Grader Ryan
Murphy from Calabasas, CA, who finished with 24 points and three
3-pointers in the 8th Grade All-Star Game and was second to none in terms of
hustle, defense, and sportsmanship throughout the entire camp, and 6'1 7th
Grader Drake Velasco from Yorba Linda, CA, who had 22 points and four
3-pointers in the 7th Grade All-Star Game and shot the lights out all
weekend, were clearly the best two players in their respective games.
And to make the story even more interesting is the fact that Velasco has a
chance to be the best player in his family, which is a strong statement when
one finds out that his older brother and two older sisters are all former Junior Phenom Campers
and have gone onto become good players at the high school level.
Velasco does need to become meaner and tougher and rebounder better.
But he's got an incredible wing span, a knack for being in the right place
at the right time, and he can flat out shoot the basketball. He also
hasn't been playing the game very long and, as a result, with normal growth
and development, his upside and potential may be off the chart. As for Murphy, it looks like he picked up where he left off a year ago at
this camp when he was both the MVP in the 7th Grade All-Star Game and the
#1-ranked player in camp in his age group. And he almost did it again,
as the race for top players honors in the 8th Grade Division was really too
close to call between Murphy and 5'11 8th Grader Justin Moore from
National City, CA, who clearly was the best player on the winning team in
the 8th Grade All-Star Game. And the first player to congratulate
Murphy on being named the MVP in the 8th Grade All-Star Game was Moore, who
had 12 points and was catalyst for the winning team in the all-star game.
Moore also was one of the most unselfish players in camp and, with his
excellent ball handling and passing skills, size for his position, and
ability to penetrate and dish, deserved an important piece of the pie. However,
even more important, Moore also displayed great leadership qualities and, just
like Murphy, appears to be just as good person as he is a basketball player.
Also failing into this category is 4'11 6th Grader Raymond Lu from
San Diego, CA, who was sidelined with an injury in his first game, but still
received a Sportsmanship Award for sticking it out and bring a positive
outlook to the camp. On the other hand, 5'7 7th Grader Kristopher
Smith from Norwalk, CA did not have such a positive attitude.
Thus, explains how he gets ranked #1 at his position and #5 overall in the
7th Grade Division, but got snubbed from playing in the all-star game. We
also found it interesting that 6'0 7th Grader
Paul Washington from Frisco, TX was not the first choice of his coach in
the meeting when we were deciding which players should be elected to play in
the all-star game.
However, this isn't the first time that I used my influence and made sure
that one of the top players in camp (i.e. Alonzo Trier and Rasheed
Sulaimon) was in the all-star game. Unfortunately I think I also
blew it by not doing likewise with 5'10 8th Grader Justin Davis from
San Diego, CA, who was an athletic power forward that clearly was the best
player on his team and legitimately one of the top 10 players in his age
group in camp. Another one of the interesting stories from the camp
involves all of the great young players from the Chicago area in the 6th
Grade Division. We've already talked a lot about 5'0 6th Grader
Chase Adams, who is from Park Forest, IL But 6'0 6th Grader
Amari Sherrod from Gary, IN really separated himself from the rest of
the pack with his strength, athleticism, and ability to dominate around the
basket in the 6th Grade All-Star Game; 5'0 6th Grader Zion Young from
Dolton, IL and 6'0 6th Grader Maurice Commander from Country Club
Hills, IL were clearly two of the best shooters regardless of age group in
camp; and 5'3 6th Grader Jordan Simmons from Crete, IL did a
masterful job of running the show en route all-star game MVP honors in the
6th Grade Division.

I'm a strong
advocate of not beating around the bush when it comes to recruiting and
making your college decision. And it looks like 6'0 Soph Quentin
Snider from Louisville (Ballard) KY subscribes to that theory as well,
as he wasted no time accepting the scholarship offer that University of
Louisville head coach Rick Pitino made to him just a couple of
days ago. We're talking about a pure point guard who is ranked #21
nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP and started this
past season as a freshman on one of the best high school teams in the state.
Snider does need to get bigger and stronger physically but also has
excellent court savvy, a high basketball IQ, and can score in
a variety of ways. Add
the fact that Snider attends Ballard High School and he's always been a
Cardinals fan and there really are a lot of similarities to former
Louisville point guard Dejuan Wheat, who not only was equally adept
at playing either guard spot, but also ended up being one of the best
players in school history. Snider also joins 6'2 Soph James
Blackmon from Ft. Wayne (Bishop Luers) IN and 6'9 Soph Tony Lyles
from Indianapolis (Tech) IN, both of whom verbally committed to Indiana
University nearly a year ago, as one of only three players in the Class
of 2014 who have
already made up their mind in terms of their college decision. However,
even more important is the fact that the Cardinals have the guy who promises
to be the next great one to come out of their backyard and he also may
be the link that helps get some of the other top young players in the city,
like 6'3 Soph D'Angelo Russell from Louisville (Central) KY, who also
was offered a scholarship earlier this week by the Cardinals, to stay home.
This also has been a good week for the Ball State, as a couple of days ago
the Cardinals landed 6'4 Michael Ramey from Indianapolis (Southport)
IN and yesterday they also received a verbal commitment from 6'6 Bo
Calhoun from South Bend (Washington) IN. And both of these guys
can flat out fill it up. In the case of Calhoun, he has excellent
skills, a great work athletic, deep shooting range, and averaged 18.0 ppg
and 9.1 rpg this past season. He also has a long wing span, rebounds well for his size,
and plays bigger than 6'6, which means he may also see significant playing
time inside due to the fact that the Cardinals currently only have three
post players (Aaron Adeoye, Zach Fields, and Matt
Kamieniecki) slated to be on their roster a year from now. Ramey
averaged 19.5 ppg and shot an incredible 66-126 (52.4%) from behind the arc
and 69-79 (87.3%) from the charity stripe this past season. It also
looks like Arizona State Herb Sendek is doing a good job of getting
some of the better players in his backyard to stay at home, as 6'2
Calaen Robinson from Chandler (Corona Del Sol) AZ has joined 6'10
Eric Jacobson from Chandler (Hamilton) AZ and 6'9 Kenny Martin
from Glendale (Kellis) AZ in a recruiting class that is now ties at #16,
along with Michigan State and Virginia Commonwealth, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes
To-Date for the Class of 2012, Robinson has excellent speed
and quickness and is capable of playing either guard spot. However, he's
really more of a 2-guard due to his nice
stroke, excellent range, and the ability to credit his own shot. Our
North Carolina Editor Rick Lewis tells us that 6'5 Aaron Bacote
from Hampton (Bethel) VA has verbally committed to Old Dominion, but he
scolds us for not including this athletic 2-guard on our List of the Top 200 Players
Nationally in the Class of 2012,
which was published earlier this
week exclusively right here in the Members Section. "Bacote
shoots the three, attacks the basket, and is a local kid," says Lewis.
Another player who was left off our
List of the Top 200 Players
Nationally in the Class of 2012is6'10 Ismail Dauda from Boca Raton (Grandview
prep) FL who previously was ranked #89 nationally in the senior class by the
HOOP SCOOP and was verbally committed to Miami-FL. Now it looks
like he' s back on the board and is attending Polk State (JC) FL.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Our Mississippi
Editor Lavel Johnson provides us with the latest scoop on 6'2 Xavian Rimmer from
Piney Woods (H.S.) MS, who was ranked #227 in our Final Ranking of the
Top Players Nationally in the Class of 2011, but will not be attending
UT-Chattanooga, which was the school that he originally signed a binding
National Letter-of-Intent to attend last fall. Rimmer was released
from this letter-of-intent in mid-June, because, at the time, he was deemed to
be a non-qualifier. However, since that time Xavian has fulfilled the
necessary requirements under NCAA guidelines and, as a result, is now a full
qualifier and free and clear to attend any Division I school of his choosing. And, believe it or not, the
school that he picked is Alcorn State. On the other hand, this makes a
lot more sense when one finds out that new Alcorn State head coach Luthor
Riley previously was the head coach at Jackson (Provine) MS, where his
team's won four state championship and played in three other title games
during his dozen years at the school. It also makes sense that Rimmer
has known Riley since was in elementary school and he attended Riley's youth
basketball camp when was age eight to 10. And to make the story even
more interesting is the fact much of Rimmer's family, including his father,
mother, brother, three uncles, and two cousins attended Alcorn State and
Rimmer has attended many Alcorn State games over the years. Rimmer
also is good friends with another Alcorn State signee - 6'4 LeAntwan
Luckett from Ridgeland (H.S.) MS - and, with a recruiting class that
also includes 6'4 Anthony Nieves from East Central (JC) MS, 6'9
Chris Brand from Western Texas (JC) TX, 6'4 JaMichael Hawkins from Jackson (Wingfield) MS, 6'4
Michael Willis from Mississippi Delta (JC) MS, 6'1 Anthony Evans
from Mississippi Delta (JC) MS, and 5'11 Jarvis Moore from
Mississippi Delta (JC) MS, they are hoping to restore the program to major
prominence after winning only two and four games the last two seasons.
Johnson also tells us that Mississippi State received a verbal commitment
yesterday from 6'1 Josh Grey from Humble (Christian Life) TX and Ole
Miss got a commitment earlier today from 6'4 Martavious Newby from
Memphis (Booker T. Washington) TN. Grey, who is originally from Lake
Charles, LA, is a quick push-the-pace point guard that can penetrate to set
up his teammates or stick the open jumper. Grey also is a good
defensive player and he picked the Bulldogs over schools like Georgetown,
Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oregon, and Baylor. Grey joins 6'9 Gavin Ware
from Starkville (H.S.) MS, 6'5 Fred Thomas from Jackson (Jim Hill) MS, and
6'1 Craig Sword from Montgomery (Carver) AL in a recruiting class
that is now ranked #6 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes
To-Date for the Class of 2012, Newby is a tough physical athletic
wing who can defend both guard spots, is a good rebounder and is a guy who
can fill up the stat
book. Newby chose Ole Miss over Georgia, Arkansas, Tennessee,
Nebraska, Missouri, Auburn, and Mississippi State and is the Rebels first
commitment for the Class of 2012. The Bulldogs and Rebels both also have
6'8 Devonte Pollard of Dekalb (Kemper County) MS high on their
priority list. But they also have plenty of company as Pollard has a list that
also includes Georgetown, Kentucky, Texas, Connecticut, N.C. State,
Marquette, Auburn, Georgia and Tennessee. It also looks like Ole Miss, UTEP, Maryland, West Virginia, Arkansas,
and Oklahoma State are in the hunt for 6'6 Tymond Howard of Pearl
(HS) MS.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

The next thing on
our agenda is to take a look at and see where things stand with our ranking
of the Top Recruiting Classes
To-Date for the Class of 2012and epecially noteworthy is the race among
Indiana, which currently has the #1-ranked recruiting class with 5'11
Kevin Ferrell from Indianapolis (Park Tudor) IN, 6'8 Hanner Perea
from La Porte (La Lumiere) IN, 6'7 Jeremy Hollowell from Indianapolis
(Lawrence Central) IN, 7'0 Peter Jurkin from Charlotte (United Faith
Christian) IN, and 6'3 Ron Patterson from Indianapolis (Broad Ripple)
IN in the fold; Villanova, which currently has the #2-ranked recruiting
class with 6'5 Savon Goodman from Bryn Athyn (Academy of the New
Church) PA, 6'3 Ryan Aricidacono from Langhorne (Neshaminy) PA, and
6'10 Daniel Ochefu from Westtown (Friends) PA in the fold; and UCLA,
which currently has the #4-ranked recruiting class with 6'0 Dominic Artis
from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV and 6'5 Jordan Adams from Mouth
of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA in the fold. If UCLA gets 6'5 Shabazz Muhammad
from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, 6'8
Kyle Anderson from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, and/or 6'9 Brandon Ashley
from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, that would be enough to move the Bruins
into the #1 spot on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes
To-Date for the Class of 2012. However, if UCLA lands only one of the
aforementioned players (Muhammad, Anderson, and Ashley) and Villanova gets
6'8 Amile Jefferson from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA, then the
Wildcats would move into the #1 spot. And, of course there still several
X-factors with Indiana. The first involves Perea and Jurkin, both of
whom have the upside and potential to keep moving up in our rankings as
they continue to develop better skills and become more Americanized.
The second involves the fact that the Hoosiers coaching staff is still
recruiting several of the top players in the nation, like 6'10 Mitch
McGary from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH and 6'4 Gary Harris
from Fishers (Hamilton Southeastern) IN. Are you starting to get the
idea that there is still plenty of things to be decided even though 41 of
our top 100-ranked seniors are already off the board? It also looks
like the early winnesr in this year's recruiting wars are the Atlantic Coast
Conference, which currently has seven of our top 30-ranked recruiting
classes with N.C. State, Virginia, Wake Forest, North Carolina, Duke,
Clemson, and Virginia Tech all making the list, and the Big-10 Conference,
which not only has the #1-ranked recruiting class in Indiana, but also has
four other teams (Purdue, Michigan, Michigan State, and Wisconsin) listed in
the 11-20 range. We also find it interesting that the five highest
ranked schools on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes
To-Date for the Class of 2012that don't belong to BSC Conferences are
Xavier, which for years has recruited and played at a high major level;
Virginia Commonwealth and Butler, which both appear to be capitalizing on
their NCAA Final Four appearances this past March; and Towson and Kent
State, which this spring hired Pat Skerry and Rob Senderoff,
who are two of the bright up-and-coming guys in the business. Xavier
currently has five players in the fold in a recruiting class that is ranked
#3 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes
To-Date for the Class of 2012
and includes 6'2 Myles Davis from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 7'5
Sim Bullar from Huntington (Prep) WV, 6'10 James Farr from
Evanston (Township) IL, 6'2 Semaj Christon from Wolfeboro (Brewster
Academy) NH, and 6'9 Jalen Reynolds from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy)
NH. Virginia Commonwealth's class is tied at #16, along with Michigan
State, and it includes three players - 6'8 Justin Tueyo from Hampton
(Lovejoy) GA, 6'5 Mo Alie-Cox from Middleburg (Middlesex) VA, and 6'5
Jordan Burgess from Richmond (Benedictine) VA, all of whom are ranked in
the 101-300 range. Butler's class is ranked #24 and it includes two
players - 6'4 Kellen Durham from Pendleton Heights (H.S.) IN and 5'11
Chris Harrison-Docks from Okemos (H.S.) MI - who are ranked in the
101-200 range and another guy - 6'3 Devontae Morgan from Tampa
(Plant) FL - who is ranked in the 300-500 range. Towson and Kent
State's classes are both tied at #31, along with Arizona State, Missouri,
and Texas Tech, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes
To-Date for the Class of 2012.
The former has 6'8 Barrington Alston from Christchurch (School) VA
and 6'2 Frank Mason from Petersburg (H.S.) VA in the fold. The
latter has landed 6'7 Richard Smith from Richmond (Chesterfield
Community) and 6'7 Chris Ortiz from South Kent (Prep) CT. All
of these players are the equivalent of a player in the 101-300 range
nationally.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Now that I'm off
the road for a few days (I'll be leaving early again on Friday morning to
cover the Junior Phenon Camp in
San Diego, CA), it's the perfect time to catch up on the long list of verbal
commitments that have occurred during the last month. The most
noteworthy being the decision by 6'0 Dominic Artis from Henderson
(Findlay Prep) NV, who is ranked #18 on our List of the Top 200 Players
Nationally in the Class of 2012, to attend UCLA. We're talking about a
quality floor general who knows how to run a team, makes excellent
decisions, is quick enough to beat most guys off the dribble, and is a very
good 3-point shooter. In other words, he's exactly what the doctor
ordered for the Bruins coaching staff, which have been in dire need for the
last several years of a pure point guard who can step in and run the show. Artis also should be the perfect complement to 6'5 Jordan Adams from
Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA who made verbal commitment to UCLA about six
weeks ago. And the best could be yet to come, if UCLA also lands 6'5 Shabazz Muhammad
from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, 6'8
Kyle Anderson from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, and 6'9 Brandon Ashley
from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV in what Artis himself told us two days
before he officially picked the Bruins a-week-and-a-half ago could be a "Fab Five recruiting
class." As things stand now, Artis and Adams are good enough to
get UCLA's recruiting class ranked #4 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes
To-Date for the Class of 2012, But the addition of those other three players
would be enough to move the Bruins right to the top of the list. Or,
if Muhammad decides to stay home (our guess is that he won't venture too far
due to the fact that his family will want to see him play) and attend UNLV,
then we would be talking about the most important player that the Runnin'
Rebels have landed since Larry Johnson. However, regardless of
whether UNLV lands Muhammad, they already have a great head start on the
future after receiving a pair of verbal commitments from 6'0 DaQuan Cook
from Baltimore (Digital Harbor) MD, who is a tough hardnosed combo guard
that is ranked #90 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP,
and 6'8 Jr Christian Wood, who is transferring from Palmdale, CA to
Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, where he is expected to provide the perfect
complement to 6'9 Brandon Ashley, 6'8 Anthony Bennett, 6'0
Dominic Artis, 6'8 Winston Shepard, and 6'3 Jr Nigel
Williams-Goss on what very well could be the best high school in the
nation next year. It also looks like all of the hard work that
University of Arizona head coach Sean Miller, who was the Most
Visible Head Coach of the Summer a year ago and is one of the leading
candidates to win that award again this year, has put in on the recruiting
trail has paid big dividends now that he has verbal commitments from two of
the top seniors on the West Coast. If you will recall, the Wildcats
already had 6'9 Grant Jarrett from La Verne (Lutheran) OH, who is
ranked #38 nationally in the senior class the HOOP SCOOP, in the fold
and about three weeks ago they landed 6'2 Gabe York from Orange
(Lutheran) CA, who is a prolific scoring combo guard that is ranked #62
nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP. And within
the last couple of days the University of Michigan added two more early
verbal commitments from 6'0 Jr Derrick Walton from Harper Woods
(Chandler Park) MI and 6'5 Jr Zak Irvin from Fishers (Hamilton
Southeastern) IN to a recruiting class that already included 6'8 Jr
Mark Donnal from Whitehouse (Wayne) OH and 6'6 Jr Austin Hatch
from Ft. Wayne (Canterbruy) IN. While none of these guys will be
ranked among the top 100 juniors nationally when we publish our updated
ranking of the top players in the Class of 2013, they all should fit well
into the Wolverines' system and collectively they give Michigan head coach
John Beilein and his staff a recruiting class that is currently ranked
#3 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes
To-Date for the Class of 2013, There also are the two recent verbal commitments that
Xavier has landed in 6'2 Myles Davis from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA and
6'2 Semaj Christon from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH. Add
that to the three players that they already have in the fold in
7'5Sim Bhullar
from Huntington (Prep) WV, 6'10James Farr from Evanston (Township) IL, and 6'9 Jalen Reynolds from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH and it's easy
to see why we have the Musketeers' recruiting class is ranked #4 on our
of the Top Recruiting Classes
To-Date for the Class of 2012, And within the last 24 hours its been reported
that the sharpshooting 6'0 Patrick Holloway from Fairfax (Paul VI) VA
has decided to stay home and attend George Mason, the athletic 6'5 Louis
Dabney from Riverside (Reserve Christian) LA is doing likewise and will
attend Tulane, 5'10 Rhett Harrelson from Enterprise (H.S.) AL is
bound for Western Carolina, and 6'8 Josh Fortney from Baltimore (St.
Frances) MD has made it official for Loyola-Maryland. We also have a
long list of other verbal commitments that occurred last month, which
include 6'0 Jr Conner Frankamp from Wichita (North) KS to Kansas, 6'8
Jordan Goodman from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL to Texas
Tech, 6'4 Charles Mann from McDonough (Union Grove) GA to Georgia,
6'9 Kenny Martin from Glendale (Kellis) AZ to Arizona State, 6'9
Aaron Scales from High Point (Christian) NC to Missouri, 6'0 Trey
Davis from Saxtons River (Vermont Academy) VT to George Washington, 5'8
Jr
Sam Esposito from Scottsdale (Chaparral) AZ and 6'9 Jr Joe Boyd
from Scottsdale (Chaparral) AZ have both made early verbal commitments to New Mexico State, 6'8 Maurice
Jeffers from Washington (Coolidge) DC to Delaware, 6'6 Jake Kretzer
from Waverly (H.S.) OH to Akron, 6'6 Jr Evan Bradds from Jamestown (Greenview)
OH to Ohio University, 6'5 Jacoby Roddy from Peoria (Manual) IL to
Wright State, 6'5 Lloyd Neely from Detroit (Crockett) MI to Oakland,
6'3 Dayton Boddie from El Camino (Oceanside) CA to UC-Riverside, 6'0
Jamal Lewis from Washington (Sidwell Friends) WA to Pennsylvania, 6'3
Zach Rufer from Goshen (Burke Catholic) NY to Lafayette, 6'0 Jack
Montague from Brentwood (H.S.) TN to Yale, and 6'4 Eric Fanning
from Collegeville (Perkiomen Valley) PA to Wagner.

Monday, August 1, 2011

It's finally over!
I'm talking about that the fact theSummer
Evaluation Periodis over and,
after having been on the road pretty much non-stop for the last four months
watching the top high school players in the nation on numerous occasions and
in multiple venues, it's time to step back and put things into
perspective. And what better way to start than with our Updated Ranking
of the Top 20 5th Year Players & Top 200 Players Nationally in the Class of
2012 (Rising Seniors), which
was published exclusively in the Members Section earlier
today. It should come as no surprise that 6'5 Shabazz Muhammad
from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV is our #1-ranked player in the class.
He's been the top guy in the class since the end of his freshman year and
right now he's so far out in front of the competition that it kind of
reminds me of the way Secretariat won the Belmont by 30 lengths 38 years ago.
So really the battle is for second and, after the way 6'4 Marcus Smart
from Flower Mound (Marcus) TX played in the adidas Super 64 in Las
Vegas, NV, he's the favor of the day and, as a result, gets the nod over 6'8
Kyle Anderson from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'9 Tony Parker
from Lithonia (Miller Grove) GA, 6'8 Amile Jefferson from Wynnewood
(Friends Central) PA, and 6'9 Brandon Ashley from Henderson (Findlay
Prep) NV, who are all bunched up pretty close in the 2-6
range. We also suspect that 6'8 Anthony Bennett from Henderson
(Findlay Prep) NV, who checks in next on the list at #7, will pass up
ultimately pass up most of the players ranked ahead of him. However, it is the editorial position of the HOOP SCOOP to
let a player earn it. And, although Bennett has all the ingredients
necessary to evolve into a superstar, he hasn't put it
altogether yet. We also probably have 5'11 Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell
from Indianapolis (Park Tudor) IN ranked higher than a lot of people might
expect. And he also is the highest ranked player in the class who is
off the board, as he is the marquee player in Indiana's current recruiting
class, which is ranked #1 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes
To-Date for the Class of 2012, Speaking of players who have already made early
verbal commitments, we also tracked commitments by 6'3 Rasheed Sulaimon
from Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX to Duke, 6'5 Savon Goodman from
Bryn Athyn (Academy of the New Church) PA to Villanova, 6'1 Marcus Paige
from Marion (Linn-Mar) IA to North Carolina, 6'8 Samuel Dekker from
Sheboygan (Lutheran) WI to Wisconsin, 6'0 Dominic Artis from
Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV to UCLA, 6'9 Cameron Ridley from
Richmond (Ft. Bend Bush) TX to Texas, 6'5 Jordan Price from Decatur
(Southwest DeKalb) TX to Auburn, 6'3 Ryan Arcidiacono from Langhorne
(Neshaminy) PA to Villanova, 6'5 Jordan Adams from Mouth of Wilson
(Oak Hill) VA to UCLA, 5'11 Tyler Lewis from Lewisville
(Forsyth Country Day) NC to N.C. State, 6'5 Justin Anderson from
Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD to Virginia, 6'9 Grant Jerrett from
La Verne (Lutheran) CA to Arizona, 6'5 Omar Calhoun from Middle
Village (Christ the King) NY to Connecticut, 6'9 Aaron Rountree from
Wilson (Greenfield) NC to Wake Forest, 7'0 Isaiah Austin from
Arlington (Grace Prep) TX to Baylor, 6'8 Montrezl Harrell from
Virginia Tech, 6'10 Daniel Ochefu from Westtown (Friends) PA to
Villanova, 6'5 Torian Graham from Raleigh (Word of God) NC to N.C.
State, 6'6 J.P. Tokoto from Menomonee Falls (H.S.) WI to North
Carolina, 6'6 Cameron Beidscheid from St. Louis (Cardinal Ritter) MO
to Notre Dame, 6'7 Glenn Robinson from Saint John (Lake Central) IN
to Michigan, 6'2 Gabe York from Orange (Lutheran) CA to Arizona, 6'9 Gavin Ware from Starkville (H.S.) MS to Mississippi
State, 6'2 Codi Miller-McIntyre from Concord (First Assembly) NC to
Wake Forest, 5'11 Ronnie Johnson from Indianapolis (North Central) IN
to Purdue, 6'5 Nkereuwem Okoro from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY to Iowa
State, 6'8 Hanner Perea from La Porte (La Lumiere) IN to Indiana, 6'4
Michael Frazier from Tampa (Plant) FL to Florida, 6'8 Evan Nolte
from Alpharetta (Milton) GA to Virginia, 7'5 Sim Bhullar from
Huntington (Prep) WV to Xavier, 6'0 Braxton Ogbueze from Charlotte
(United Faith Christian) NC to Florida, 6'7 Jeremy Hollowell from
Indianapolis (Lawrence Central) IN to Indiana, 6'5 Damien Wilson from
Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA to Memphis, 6'0 Daquan Cook from
Baltimore (Digital Harbor) MD to UNLV, 6'3 Ron Patterson from
Indianapolis (Broad Ripple) IN to Indiana, 6'6 Jaron Blossomgame from
Alpharetta (Chattahoochee) GA to Clemson, 6'10 Josh Scott from
Colorado Springs (Lewis-Palmer) CO to Colorado, 7'0 Peter Jurkin from
Charlotte (United Faith Christian) NV to Indiana, 6'5 Fred Thomas
from Mississippi State, 6'5 Raphael Davis from Ft. Wayne (South Side)
IN to Purdue, and 6'8 Arik Armstead from Elk Grove (Pleasant Grove)
CA to USC (football). In other words, 41 of our 100-ranked rising
seniors are already off the board. And that number increases even more
when one looks at our 5th Year List, where five of the top
dozen-ranked players are currently committed to four-year Division I
colleges and universities, as we've tracked 6'2 Myles Davis from
Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA to Xavier, 6'7 Georges Niang from Tilton
(School) NH to Iowa State, 6'11 Isaiah Hill from Grand Prairie (God's
Academy) TX to Seton Hall, 6'6 Nik Stauskas from Southborough (St.
Mark's) MA to Michigan, and 6'9 Jordan Goodman from Jacksonville
(Arlington Country Day) FL to Texas Tech. We also think it's important
to point out that we have 6'11 Andre Drummond from Oakdale (St.
Thomas More) CT ranked no higher than #3 on our
List of the Top 5th Year Players, behind 6'10 Mitch McGary
from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) MA and 6'6 Ricardo Ledo from
Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA. However, McGary, who plays with
incredible heart and passion and is much more skilled that Drummond, and
Ledo, who is one of the most naturally gifted and athletic guys to come down
the pike in a long time, are not chopped liver, as they both would be
ranked in the 6-10 range, if they were still high school seniors. And
Drummond, who actually played the best we've ever seen him play in the
adidas Super 64 Tournament, would check in at #10 on our Ranking of the Top 200 Players
Nationally in the Class of 2012,
if he was eligible to be on that list. But there are still to many
question marks, like post moves, being in shape, having the heart and desire
necessary to be a great player, and being caught up in all the hype of being
one of the guys who has to get to the NBA as fast as possible, for Drummond
to be ranked
any higher. Or to put this another way, right now Drummond is
currently on track to be the next Kwame Brown. However, if the
light ever click on, he could end up being a $100 million man.